She's Got the Jack
by Erin Richards
Summary: FINISHED - Two years after the curse of the Black Pearl, Jack is retired in Tortuga. Can the promise of treasure get him off his drunken pirate butt and back to sea? Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters owned by anyone else. (Jack included)
1. One Rum Too Many

One . One Rum Too Many  
  
Captain Jack Sparrow staggered down the crowded night street, randomly jostled by brawling men, richly powdered women, assorted unidentifiable forms and drunken scoundrels - drunken obviously being defined as more drunk than himself. Tortuga was indeed a place where a man could satisfy his appetites, and burn off his hard-won gold coins.  
Jamming his hat on more securely, Jack tilted his head and glared narrowly at the man who had bumped into him, then sauntered onwards, grumbling to himself.  
Of course the louts couldn't be expected to pay attention to whomever they were bumping into. It wasn't like he, formerly (which meant more adamantly than ever) Captain Jack Sparrow, was anyone worth avoiding. Even women had no qualms about hitting him, he moped to himself, setting a wavering hand adorned with marks and rings to his stinging cheek. This one's name, he was fairly certain, had been Laura. Or Holly. Yes, maybe she had been Holly. Anyhow, what did it matter? The point was, really, that he didn't quite remember what he had done to deserve this. As always.  
A few more paces into the darkness, he walked into someone decidedly larger than himself.  
"Watch where you're going, runt," the man growled, taking hold of Jack's shirt collar with an oversized, grubby mass of flesh that Jack deemed to be a hand. Normally, Jack would not have been considered a runt - tall, stately and of noble bearing perhaps not, but at least dignified and intimidating on his better days. He made up for in attitude the inch or two he maybe lacked in height. Normally, he wouldn't have put up with such an insult. But when he was especially drunk, he either became bold and stupid or easily intimidated - or both, depending on the situation. At this particular instant he felt intimidated, whatever he may have appeared. And he was most definitely especially drunk.  
"Ah." Jack squirmed, trying to hold his ground. "Apologies - sir," he spoke with an exaggerated nod, "I was at that unfortunate moment unable to watch where I was going for cause of not bein' able to see in the dark." His deep-voiced speech drawled even more than usual. "If you would be so kind as to let me go, I solemnly vow it will never happen again." He tried to look threatening, though he was fairly certain his expression was lost in the darkness, and opted for a plea instead. "Never," he added for emphasis.  
The hand momentarily tightened on the material of his shirt, and Jack's eyes widened. But somewhat to his relief, the massive man released him with a shove. Jack stumbled backwards, landing against a stack of crates on the other side of the street.  
Happy to escape relatively unscathed, Jack picked himself up, brushed himself off, righted his hat, and swept the long tangled ropes of his dark hair out of his face.  
With an indignant grimace made in the general direction of the large man, Jack turned and stumbled into the nearest tavern. What he really needed was a drink.  
He was used to the noise, he was used to the smell. Hell, he hardly noticed it. Though the salty air in his nose at sea was the only time he felt truly happy and free . a flagon of rum would have to suffice for the present.  
Extravagantly picking his way across fallen bodies on the dirt and sawdust floor, and carefully avoiding men being knocked in all directions by the fists of others, he made his way to the presiding godsend selling drinks at the counter.  
"Ah'dlikeuhrumplease," he mumbled to the man in charge of the bar. Jack leaned against the counter and studied its surface, which was littered with tobacco stubs, the odd coin or button, and stained with spilt drinks.  
"Ay?" the man asked.  
"Ahrum," Jack declared more loudly, his usually slurred voice stagnated further by tiredness and alcohol.  
The man understood, having dealt in his time with a great number of people less eloquent than Jack.  
Jack seated himself inelegantly but with a self-assured composure at one of the high chairs and waited, intently fingering a ring on his right hand. He glanced beside him, nearly oblivious to the fighting taking place elsewhere in the tavern.  
A pirate with an especially big hat sat on the chair next to his. It was the hat that caught his attention, and he raised his chin in defiance, trying to appear menacing despite his own suddenly inadequate tricorn hat. The pirate was facing away from him, so Jack slid down a bit in his chair, trying to become more obscure. He watched the form seated next to him out of the corner of his eye, narrowly wondering who it could be, or where he might be able to get a similar hat.  
The man behind the counter cleared his throat. Jack focused his attention on what was being asked. Fishing in his pocket, he grasped a coin between two fingers, and gave it to the man in exchange for a large bottle and a small glass.  
Pleased that his drink had arrived, he smiled, picked up the bottle, then suspiciously examined the smaller glass for signs of previous use. Satisfied at its cleanliness, he set it down, and removed the stopper from the bottle, immediately cheered by the warm scent of rum. Despite his blurred senses, he managed to pour the drink expertly into the smaller glass, spilling none.  
A short time passed before the bottle was empty. He called for another.  
Somewhere, someone began singing an old sailing song. In lighter times, he might have joined in. It didn't matter that he didn't know half the words. His dark eyes darkened some more, and he remembered another song he had sung once, with a girl on a desert island. He could almost feel the blaze of the bonfire on his face. Elizabeth, nearly within his grasp. That had been almost a year ago now. No, two. He rarely dwelt on the moment. Briefly he wondered how she and Will were faring. He had not seen them since the day of his trial and near-hanging, not since Will had rescued him.  
It hadn't been his first brush with death, and as sure as he was Captain Jack Sparrow, it would not be his last. As sure as he was Captain Jack Sparrow. He let the words seep through his rum-saturated mind. There was no crew under his command now - they had disbanded shortly after pillaging the treasure from the Island. For a short time, he had been filthy rich. Now he was just drunk, several pounds heavier, two years older, and filthy. All right, he amended his thoughts. It wouldn't be his last brush with death at least until he stopped living like Captain Jack Sparrow. And he knew that would be 'til the day he died. He thought of Will with mixed emotions, most of them fond. Bootstrap Bill's son. Young Will was an oddity, to be sure. But he was a good fighter and had a head fixed squarely on his shoulders. Maybe a bit too squarely to ever live a life on the sea. Will would have made a damn fine pirate if he hadn't fallen in love with Elizabeth. It wasn't that Jack wanted her for himself. Jack had learned the hard way, a long time ago, that love and pirates didn't mix. In the end, it had been the sea and not his love's arms that called to him. In the end, he knew with a certainty beyond all else that this was the better way.  
And yet, these were all thoughts that he rarely dwelt on. Was he losing his edge? He smiled to himself from beneath his moustache. There were very few edges at the moment. His rum glass was too small, nevertheless.  
Giving up on the glass, he raised the bottle to his lips and took a long gulp. He glanced over at the pirate with the big hat seated beside him.  
Funny, he could have sworn that - he whipped his head around to do a double take, as his eyebrows drew together. Now that he could see her - yes, her face . he laughed. Oh, what a tremendously funny joke. He glanced around. Was there someone waiting to see his reaction? It was the kind of joke his old mate Barbossa might have played. They had had an ongoing competition about hats. No, he reminded himself, Barbossa was dead for good. The curse of the Black Pearl had ended close to two years ago, and Jack himself had shot a bullet through Barbossa's miserable, mutineering body.  
Jack stared at the girl. She paid no attention to him, but was busily looking into her own drink. She looked to be a harmless thing, which made him stare all the more. What was a girl like her doing in a place like this? He supposed the big hat kept the sun off her face, because she was rather pale. And the few tendrils of hair that had escaped from beneath her hat were a dark blonde. His char-lined ebony eyes narrowed in question.  
Finally, she looked over at him. Her eyes widened a little, whether in surprise, fear or something else, he couldn't tell. Then the darkness got darker and his world turned sideways.  
The girl stared, a little uncertainly, down at where he had fallen, sprawled out on the floor. She seemed to consider what she ought to do under the circumstances. She glanced around, but of course through the commotion no one was likely to notice her anyhow. Carefully she stood up and pushed herself away from the counter. Taking Jack by his tall, square- toed black boots, she dragged him towards the door, avoiding wherever possible sharp objects on the floor and other bodies. Some men just didn't know when to stop.  
.  
  
Jack was used to headaches and waking up in strange places. But the back of his head literally felt bruised and numb. And he really didn't know where he was. Sitting up, his head pounding, he put a hand to his temple and tried to look around. His vision blurred again, and he could have sworn he could hear someone talking.  
"Careful now," the voice warned. It was a girl's voice. He drew his eyebrows together, thinking hard. As his vision cleared, he could see that he was sitting on a bed, and that he was in a small room with light streaming through a window to his right. The facts seemed to imply that he had spent a wild night in a brothel somewhere or other: typically aching head, strange place, and a girl in the same room as him. Usually that only happened when .  
He sat up straighter, turning to look at the girl. She walked between himself and the window and became little more than a silhouette. He could tell, though, that she was fully clothed - in pirate attire. He looked down at himself. He was fully clothed as well. This was getting stranger and stranger. So if his clothes weren't on her, but she was dressed like a pirate . her big hat jostled his memory. Wherever he had been last night, he remembered the hat. So he supposed that he remembered her, too. He stared at her, and noticed that she was staring at him.  
"Haven't you got anything better to do?" he asked, referring to the fact that she was staring.  
"Haven't you?" she countered, referring to the fact that he was too.  
He seemed taken aback, and looked away. Then he reconsidered and went back to glaring at her. Who was she to tell him what to do?  
"What happened?" he asked after a moment.  
She smiled darkly. "You had a bit too much to drink, me thinks. You passed out at the tavern. I brought you back here so that the rest of the pirates on Tortuga couldn't rummage through your pockets."  
Yes, he realized that unconscious, he would have been pray to curious hands of passers-by.  
"Where indeed is here, pray tell?" he asked, his hand travelling to his pockets. Had her curious pirate hands searched through his belongings already? He wasn't sure whether to hope one way or the other, now able to see her more clearly, his eyes adjusting to the bright light.  
"You're in a room at the Red Parrot Inn," she explained, then added, "All I took were some coins to pay for lodging."  
Jack's eyes flared. "You .?" She had rifled through his clothing then, she had seen his compass, his lack of plentiful coins . he wasn't even sure what else had been in his pockets.  
"Where's me hat?" he demanded, his hands flying to the top of his head. Only a worn red bandanna served to hold his long bead-laden dreds back from his face.  
She laughed. "No 'thank-you,' no introductions, no pleased-to-meet- you?"  
Jack pursed his lips. "Thank you, pleased to meet you," he said in a sarcastically obliging tone, "can I have me hat now?"  
"What's your name?" she asked, evading his demand.  
"Ladies first," he insisted.  
She held her chin up a little, perhaps offended at the label. After all, not many women bothered going to all the trouble of becoming pirates. And she certainly hadn't gone through the hassle just to be called a 'lady.'  
"India," she answered in a sultry growl.  
He grinned, revealing several gold teeth. "What's your real name?"  
She looked angry. They glared at each other for a moment before her eyes dropped. "I'm not sure," she admitted. Then she looked back up at him, "All I know is that my father was a man named Captain Barbossa."  
"Oh good," Jack breathed. 


	2. The Red Parrot

Thanks everyone for your review and comments! I'm not sure what was posted, but I'll update as often as possible. Promise. Love you all. *muah!* Ta!  
  
-eR *.]  
  
Two . The Red Parrot  
  
"And who might you happen to be?" she asked.  
"I," he began grandly, then faltered. What was he supposed to say? 'Of course you'll have heard of me. Out to seek revenge for your father? Sorry to tell you this, love - but I was the one who shot your dad. That was two years ago.' Had it really been two years? He had pissed it all away on rum, women . and more rum. Did she really want to find him and kill him for what he had done? Well, she certainly wouldn't be the first person who wanted him dead. But what did he care?  
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he said as though it ought to be incredibly obvious.  
She narrowed her eyes at him.  
"You were aboard with me father - the Black Pearl. An' his first mate, weren't ye?" she asked.  
His nostrils flared. He, a first mate? Captain Jack Sparrow. She continued before he had a chance to answer.  
"Somehow, I thought ye'd be a lot older," she said, studying him intently.  
"I'm older than I look, love," he assured her.  
"Me name's India, and I'm not, nor will I ever be your 'love,'" she shot.  
"'Course not, love," he apologized.  
Her expression angered. "Look - Jack," she began warningly.  
"Ah, Captain Jack, if you please," he interrupted.  
"Captain," she declared. "Captain ." she repeated more quietly.  
"Mmn," he agreed. He watched her as she turned the concept over in her mind. She was searching for a way to say something important, from what he could tell by her expression. Was it about him? "Why was it that you really brought me here?" he asked. She opened her mouth and seemed to reconsider what she had been about to tell him. Not a man to waste time, Jack reached out a crooked hand, dragging the girl down beside him. India was quicker than he had anticipated, and had obviously not been thinking along the same lines as he had. Quicker than 'shiver me timbers,' she slapped him, hard, across the face, shouted some obscenities, and stormed out of the room.  
He stared after her for a moment, having grown accustomed to that reaction from women. Then, making the best of the situation, he lay back on the comfortable bed, crossed his arms behind his head, and tried to puzzle what, exactly, was on the girl's mind. Then, giving up on any such strenuous activity, he simply waited, enjoying the luxury of the Red Parrot.  
What more did he need? He had a comfortable place to rest his feet, and with his hat and a bottle of rum.  
"India!" he called frantically after her, leaping up from the bed. "Me hat, love!" He pulled open the door and looked out into the hall. She was nowhere to be seen.  
"Hang it!" he exclaimed. Taking a quick glance around the room to make sure he hadn't overlooked his hat, Jack entered the hallway and made his way unevenly downstairs to the commotion of the common room.  
He rolled his eyes skyward. The Red Parrot Inn was a brothel. Cleverly named, he thought, for the women were nearly all dressed (or undressed) in red, and instead of parrots perched on pirate shoulders, there seemed to be whores hanging off the men.  
Wait, he reminded himself. All the inns on Tortuga were of a similar nature. Tortuga itself could be considered a massive rollicking, rum-laden brothel.  
"Jack," one of the girls said in an overly sweet voice. He braced himself. The expected slap came, hard.  
"Gloria," he managed to breathe. Then he trailed his gaze warily across the room, noticing to his dismay that he recognized the majority of the girls - and the majority of them did not look happy with him. He decided that it might be in his best interest to leave, quickly, before the majority of his face became a massive bruise.  
His ebony eyes swept one last time across the faces, searching vainly for India and his hat. Failing to see them, he made his way as unobtrusively as possible to the door and delicately exited the Red Parrot Inn.  
Jack stood observing the bustling street for a moment. Determined not to rest or take a break for rum before he tracked down either the girl or his hat or preferably the latter if not both, Jack headed out into the crowd.  
Barbossa? Barbossa's daughter. No wonder she seemed familiar. From what he had seen, she had her father's temper and flair for big hats. So long as he found his and could settle in for some more rum, he thought he would be the happiest former pirate in the Spanish Main. . . .  
  
"You're looking for who?" Gibbs asked.  
"She calls herself India. Says she's the daughter of Captain Barbossa," Jack explained sarcastically. He had found his pirate mate, Gibbs, in his usual spot - sleeping with the pigs and waking with a hangover. Like many of the crew from the Pearl, Gibbs had settled in comfortably on Tortuga with his share of the treasure from Isla de la Muerta - and spent most of it.  
Jack kept talking. "She's blonde, I think ." he trailed off.  
"How tall is she?"  
Jack seemed offended, and answered, "Shorter than me." So he had never been the tallest pirate in the Caribbean. "And she's got a really big hat," he motioned with his hands.  
"You mean ." Gibbs raised an eyebrow, looking vaguely at Jack's chest.  
"No, I mean a hat, savvy?" Jack rolled his eyes and pointed to his head - which was uncharacteristically missing his own hat.  
Gibbs thought for a moment, scratching a finger through his shaggy grey hair. Then something clicked inside his memory, and his eyes brightened. "Yes, of course! Pretty little waif in a big hat. Nasty temper though."  
Jack nodded. "Sounds like her."  
"Ay, she were lookin' for some men to sail her ship. Mentioned something about needing a ship as well. Funny little thing," he commented.  
Jack's interest was piqued, though he found the whole idea slightly amusing. Why did she need a ship, or a crew, for that matter? What was she up to? "When was this? Did she say where she was going?"  
"Oh . It were a day or two ago, now. Earlier in the week. Though if she's still lookin' I bet you she's down at the port."  
"Hm," muttered Jack. He turned to leave.  
"Jack - Captain," Gibbs called after him. Jack paused to listen. "I'm surprised she hasn't spoken yet to ye. She said somethin' about collecting the old crew of the Pearl. Said it was something to do with a treasure hunt."  
Jack nodded, but kept walking, leaving Gibbs and his pigs to their business.  
Treasure? The wheels turned in his mind, and he swaggered towards the waterside. Twelve years ago, the treasure plundered by the Pearl had been Aztec gold - and unfortunately for everyone but the then-marooned Jack, it had been cursed. Why did India want to reassemble the crew?  
Jack didn't even know where they all were. His own men. Well, some of them, like Bootstrap Bill Turner, and Barbossa, were dead. He wasn't sure how many others had been killed or lost to the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker. For all he knew, some of them might have retired and set up hammocks on the other side of the globe.  
He kept walking, approaching Tortuga's main port.  
The port was generally not occupied by ships, as even pirate ships were fair game for other pirates to plunder. When there were ships, they tended to be heavily guarded by members of the crew. Usually the ships weighed anchor offshore, and men took turns rowing smaller boats ashore to pick up supplies or have a bit of fun with the inhabitants.  
If India was planning on commandeering a ship from amongst these meagre pickings, he felt she must either not know a thing about stealing boats, be very crazy, or else be very, very good at what pirates do best. He was surprised that she was even trying to assemble a crew. A woman on board was considered bad luck. And a whole expedition captained by one .? He narrowed his eyes. If she wanted to be captain, then what would become of his title? Likely, though, she wouldn't even ask him to help.  
Sticking to his promise not to take a break until he found his hat, he wandered around the port, watching for her. The day dragged on. But despite several hours of searching, he was unable to find her anywhere. There were no ships in port, and after receiving only laughter from several puzzled men on the docks, he didn't ask anyone else whether they had seen a pirate girl in a big hat.  
Finally, there was nothing to be done but to find his way to a tavern. It had been a long, arduous day by his standards, and he needed something to soothe his dry mouth and aching head. 


	3. India

Three . India  
  
The faces were swimming out of focus, but even from the quick glance, Jack thought he had seen that man before. Before he could be sure, however, another figure leapt in front of him.  
"Avast Jack!" the girl's voice sliced through the fog in his brain like a pointy cutlass. Not that Jack had ever seen many not-pointy cutlasses, but he felt the need to emphasize the sharpness of the sound. Vaguely startled, it took him a moment to realize who it was.  
"India, love," he replied with a deep voice and a grin.  
She ignored the term of endearment, sat down, and went straight to business matters.  
"I need your help, Jack," she said, a little hurriedly.  
"Whoa, slow down, love," he said, unable to concentrate but proud to have actually been asked for help.  
"There's a ship in the harbour." She seemed excited. Jack stared blankly at her.  
"Is there now?" he asked, not following what she was saying.  
She nodded. "Gibbs told me I might find you here. He also said that you were talking to him."  
"What if I was?" he asked. Who was Gibbs to be giving out personal information? Didn't he know - Jack wondered how much she had paid Gibbs to find this out. Nothing was a secret among pirates, especially not on Tortuga. There was too much profit to be made with the selling of information for anything to stay private for long.  
She lowered her voice, aware that other pirates could be listening to their conversation. "So I know that you know about the treasure."  
"What treasure?" Jack asked.  
"The treasure that my father hid."  
Jack was beginning to lose interest. "Your father? If you mean on the Isla de la Muerta, it's long since been spent."  
India looked blank. "Isla de la Muerta?"  
"Yes," Jack began. "It's an island that cannot be found save by those who already know where it is."  
She looked even more blank, then shook her head. "That's not the treasure I'm talking about. From what my father said, in his journals." She trailed off, obviously deciding that she would not tell Jack more about the location of the treasure before he agreed to help. "There's more," she finished simply. The tone she used implied that there was a lot more.  
Jack's eyes glittered at the prospect of gold. Funny the sobering effect a little talk of treasure can have on a man.  
Jack glanced around, making sure again that no one was watching them. He leaned back a little. "So now that I know about the treasure, what do you want me to do about it, eh?"  
"I need your help to steal the ship in the harbour!" India said, as though it should be completely obvious.  
"What?"  
"Aren't you Jack Sparrow - Captain Jack Sparrow?"  
"Ay," he answered.  
She raised her chin. "I had never heard of you before except in my father's journals. And the things written there were less than flattering."  
Jack was shocked, not so much because he had expected Barbossa to have written anything nice about him, but the fact that India had never heard of him dealt a rather harsh blow to his inflated and delicate ego. All he could manage to do was glare at her and try to look imposing. It didn't seem to have much of an effect.  
"Well, will you help me or not?"  
"What's in it for me?" he asked. "If you haven't even heard of me, love, why ask me to help? You don't know that I won't keep the treasure for meself if we do find it. Besides, I gave up the pirate business two years ago, when." he cut himself off before blurting out that he had shot her father.  
She seemed not to notice his pause. "Of course you'll get a share in the treasure when we find it. But I've spoken to your friends and they say you're a decent man. Say there's no one crazier than ye and no one better than ye to head a venture like this. The men say there's no one to match your skill with a ship and a crew."  
"And the women, what do they say?" he asked, more for effect than wanting an answer. He could have sworn that India blushed, but in the next moment he discarded the notion.  
"All I want is for you to help me steal the ship." she exhaled and added, "And to captain it."  
Oh, she wasn't asking much. But she seemed willing to trust his abilities as a pirate. Jack inhaled the complement, and thought over what she had asked. He could use another treasure to replenish his diminishing funds. And more than he could deny, the sea called to him. For two years he had done nothing but sit, drowning the instinct in rum. But now the opportune moment had presented itself, and it was up to him to make the right decision. Now, to help her steal that ship.  
"Commandeer, love," he said, standing up and moving away from the table. She followed him out of the tavern. "A pirate doesn't steal a ship, he commandeers one. You've a few things to learn."  
  
Sure enough, there was a beauty of a pirate ship docked at the port.  
"This would be lucky for us," Jack said, half-turning to India as they kept walking. "If only we had a crew."  
"Luck has nothing to do with it, Jack," she replied. "I've assembled a crew."  
Jack nodded a little in surprise, looking around. He saw no one who looked as though he might be awaiting orders to help take the ship out of port.  
"And where might this crew be, may I ask?" he asked.  
"All they're waiting for is a signal, Captain," she answered. They neared the ship, Jack surmised, from its appearance, was fairly new, fairly expensive, and fairly fast. They would need speed to outrun anyone who might decide to follow; an irate pirate whose ship had been stolen was not exactly the kind of person Jack wanted on his trail.  
A familiar face caught Jack's eye from beneath a straw hat - Gibbs, as discreet as ever, nodded and waited at his post on the docks. Other individuals, too, nodded as Jack looked in their direction.  
India shot a glance behind them, then, seemingly satisfied, called, "Now!"  
The majority of men on the docks mobilized, presumably acting under whatever orders India had given them earlier.  
Jack winced, putting a hand to his face. Did the girl have no tact? If there was one way to draw attention to what they were doing, it would be to move in a large group - noisily. If the owner of the ship or any members of the actual crew were nearby, they would alert the others, who would come and interfere, and there would be no way to successfully manoeuvre the ship out of port.  
Most of the men scrambled on board, up ropes or across planks, heading directly for their posts. Vaguely following India, Jack Sparrow tottered aboard, not part of the commotion around him but watching in awe. With an efficiency Jack had rarely witnessed, the ship was made ready, anchor was cast off, and they sailed from port. If anyone on shore had noticed, they certainly would not have had time to react. Once the ship was safely in the open water and the crew had relaxed a little, Jack turned to India. Something needed to be said to regain his dignity in light of the fact that India's plan had worked marvelously.  
"India, love - if you want me to captain this ship, there's something we need to get straight: I give the orders. Savvy?"  
India looked around, raised her eyebrows, and opened her arms wide. She knew Jack would never admit that she had been right and he should have kept his mouth shut.  
"They're all yours, Captain."  
Someone else had even taken the helm, Jack noted in despair, standing in the middle of the deck at a loss for what to do.  
  
One of the men came over to India, who stood next to Jack.  
"There be several of the crew in captive below deck. What shall we do with 'em?" he asked.  
Jack looked from the man to India and narrowed his eyes. Who was she to be taking news? And who was this man to be speaking to a woman instead of to Jack?  
India shrugged and gestured to Jack. "He's the one you ought to ask. Only one who knows what's going on around here," she said with a touch of sarcasm. The man shifted his gaze apologetically.  
"Captain?" he asked.  
"Aye."  
"What shall we do with the prisoners?" he repeated.  
Jack thought about it for a fraction of a second. "Keep them entertained." If they were friendly louts, it might be worth seeing how many were willing to join the new surrogate crew. However, Jack felt that he should give them a little time to get used to their new captain. Perhaps he should go down and speak with them to see what they were like, introduce himself, and find out who, in fact, their previous captain had been.  
The man seemed to be awaiting further instructions. However, Jack shooed him away, saying, "I will speak with them myself once we are underway," though the ship was quite underway as it was.  
Once the man had left, Jack turned to face India. He wasn't sure what to make of her expression, somewhere between amusement and annoyance, so he left it alone.  
"So whereabouts is this treasure?" Jack asked, then remembered when Barbossa had tricked him into sharing the location of Isla de la Muerta with the crew of the Pearl, and how it had led to a swift kick in the trousers and desertion of an island in the middle of nowhere on the great blue sea.  
"Wait -" he said, gesturing with his hands for her not to speak, "Don't answer that. Actions of the sort have been known to lead to unfortunate consequences. As long as you know where we're going, everything will be just wonderful ." he trailed off, considering whether he actually wanted her to tell or not. "And for heaven's sake, don't tell the rest of the crew! - or have you told them already?"  
She shook her head.  
"Good. Now, if you don't want to be marooned, I suggest you keep it to yourself, savvy?"  
She smiled as though she knew the story.  
"Don't worry, Captain, you can count on me not to tell," she made a motion to indicate that her lips were sealed. . . .  
  
"I'm captain Jack Sparrow," he introduced himself to the group of prisoners in the makeshift keep. There were a few hushed murmurs, but he didn't catch anything of what was said. He glanced over each of them, finding neither a familiar face nor an unfriendly or dishonest looking one among them. If the ship had not been docked in Tortuga, he almost might have guessed that the ship was not in fact a vessel for pirates. Though it was true that actually bringing a ship into port was a stupid move marking an inexperienced pirate, neither was there any member of the crew who appeared to be of a royal navy of any country. No one wore uniforms, and the Jolly Roger had been flying in place of a Union Jack . but there wasn't even a proper brig in this excuse for a pirate ship. Nor did there seem to be weevils in the biscuits, scurvy sufferers, or general disorder and disarray onboard. He wondered again who the captain had been - then discounted it, reminding himself that now the captain was . himself.  
He cleared his throat and continued strutting back and forth in front of the jumble of men. He kept talking. "I hope all of you will be content to serve under me as your new captain ." he paused to let them respond, and cringed at the general murmur of dissent. It was reluctant but not outright opposed, he guessed, hoping they could be persuaded to join with the promise of reward.  
"For those of you who decide to assent, there will be a share of treasure at the end of the adventure." This seemed to warm them slightly to the idea.  
"Right, well, we'll leave you to the idea, shall we? In the meantime, drink up me hearties, yo ho," he quoted in a half-melancholic tone, motioning to the food and drink he had generously decided to provide for them. Well, he thought, it was really more humane than generous, when it came down to it, and it would be best to cheer them if he was ever to get them to act under his orders. And the food was from the ship's stores to begin with . anyhow, the point was that he had given them food - perhaps a typical act by captain Jack Sparrow - but then Jack was not a typical pirate, as those who were unaware were sure to quickly learn.  
'That's exactly the attitude that lost you the Pearl,' came Barbossa's words suddenly to Jack's mind. He started a little, still apprehensive after two years that Barbossa was always looming over his shoulder or just around the corner.  
Well, no he was on board with Barbossa's daughter, Jack reminded himself. Of course it would be a little strange and awkward. He forced himself past the feeling, and left the prisoners.  
  
"Captain, there's a ship following us," a rascal of a man informed Jack as soon as he had re-appeared on deck.  
"What colours does she fly?" Jack asked.  
"She's a pirate ship, sure as silver," the man responded. Jack grabbed the viewing glass from the man and looked for himself. Yes, the flag was certainly black.  
"How long has she been on our tail?"  
"Me guess is since Tortuga, but she's gaining on us - fast."  
Jack shoved the viewfinder back at the man and twiddled his fingers for a moment while trying to decide what to do.  
"Try to outrun her. See what her intents are. Avoid a fight at all costs, if possible." He had just acquired a new ship and was already rather fond of her, as he tended to be with any ship, and he didn't want holes blown in her on her first voyage under his command.  
"Yes captain," the man said and wandered off presumably to spread the word.  
India came to find him. "So, captain, what's the marvellous plan?" she asked.  
"We'll see if she means to open fire on us before acting," he decided.  
"Oh? And when will we know? When she does open fire? Then will we act?" she asked. Jack tilted his head back and gazed skyward.  
"What do you suggest we do then?" he asked in something of a gravelly groan.  
"I say we halt and fight," she said.  
Jack considered it. "Look, love. The man commanding that ship is likely the captain of this ship, and he's managed to pay off some other sod from Tortuga to use his boat to get this one back. Now if that's the case, I'll wager he has a few of his men aboard with him - those who went ashore - as well as several of the other crew, just to protect their boat, see. But likely, likely," he said, coming round to the point, "he won't fire at us because this is his ship, and he doesn't want to see holes blown in it any more than we do."  
India shut her mouth with a look of smug uncertainty, as though to say, If you're wrong don't say I didn't warn you .  
Their ship, so far, had not managed to pick up any speed. The pursuing ship, however, was already on course and had the wind adjusted to advantage in the sails.  
"Not fast enough," Jack muttered worriedly, praying that his logic wasn't as faulty as . well, his reasoning or common sense. Otherwise, they might be in trouble.  
Jack felt out of place standing idly with the helm left to the charge of someone else, but it was true that he had not manned a ship for these past two years. Was it something one forgot how to do? These men didn't seem to have any idea what they were doing either, he commented to himself. They needed more speed.  
With an exaggerated sigh, he turned to look back at the other ship, which was still gaining on them. Scrambling around the deck in anxiety, Jack tried to find something useful to do, or at least to something to do to appear as though he was doing something useful. After a frenzied failure to do anything but swagger uncertainly from port to starboard, Jack turned to glance one last time at the ship. It was certainly the captain coming to reclaim this ship. There was no one else it could possibly be. But who ..?  
  
Jack scurried below deck to where the prisoners were being kept.  
"You," he pointed to one prisoner. "Who was your captain?" The bloke didn't reply, but gazed at something beyond Jack's shoulder.  
"A man named Will Turner," a voice replied from behind Jack. Jack turned, and found a man with a sword pointed at him.  
It was Will. 


	4. Where There's a Will, There's an Elizabe...

Four . Where There's a Will, There's an Elizabeth  
  
The young man recognized him with a pang. "Jack?" he asked in horror.  
"Will," Jack grinned, though he was just as shocked to see his old friend. "Allow me to explain. We needed your ship." he said, then thought better of it, "No, maybe India would be the person to explain this," he muttered, more to himself than to Will. He gestured for Will to point the weapon elsewhere.  
"Sorry," Will said, remembering to lower his sword.  
Jack laughed. "There are still some things you need to learn," he said. "When I steal your ship, you don't say you're sorry," he paused, then admitted, "I do . when I find out it's yours." He continued. "So I say, sorry for stealing your lovely boat."  
Will cleared his throat. "I really ought to say sorry for injuring your men as well. I hope no one's badly hurt."  
"Ah," Jack said in response. "Aye."  
"What are you doing here?" Will asked after a moment, then added, "Why did you need my ship? I would have let you use it - if you had only asked! I thought you had given up the life of piracy."  
"I'm sorry, son," Jack shrugged. "There was treasure and a woman in the wager. I couldn't resist. You know me." He smiled, his moustache framing the diabolic grin. "And when did you decide to take up the life of piracy?"  
Will shrugged innocently, apparently having forgiven his friend for stealing his ship. "What else was I supposed to use my share of the treasure for, but to find more?" he asked with a small smile.  
Jack grinned. "I knew you were obsessed."  
Will didn't try to deny it. Instead, he asked, ". So does this mean I can have my ship back?"  
Jack opened his mouth. "Ah . well, normally, I would say 'yes,' that's what this means . but see - remember this girl I mentioned as being in on the wager? Well, she might have some other ideas for the ship ." he said as an excuse for an explanation. "Hang on, let me take you to her. You'll see what I mean." I hope, he added under his breath.  
Jack started up the stairs to the deck. Will lingered behind for a moment, looking at his crew.  
"Can my men go free, at least?" he called.  
Jack paused, turned, and swaggered back downstairs. He looked at Will, then at the men secured in the makeshift prison.  
Of course there was no point in keeping them tied up. Jack looked down his nose at Will in mock contemplation.  
"I suppose so," he acquiesced. He turned once more to leave. "Now, are you coming, or not?"  
Will, seeing that some men from India's crew were working to set the prisoners free, shrugged and followed Jack.  
Jack emerged in the bright sunlight. He wandered across the deck and looked at the ship that had been following them. She was quite a beauty, sleek and well-cared for. He wondered who captained her, and how Will had managed to persuade them to follow this ship.  
He swung around to face Will, who stood a distance behind him. Then he walked past Will, his eyes scanning the deck for any sign of the girl. After a moment, he caught sight of her explaining something to a group of two or three pirates. Jack grumbled to himself. He thought he had told her that he was the one handing out commands around here.  
India looked over, saw Jack, and trailed off in mid-sentence. Momentarily she abandoned giving orders to come see what he wanted.  
"This is India," Jack introduced her when she arrived, then leaned closer to Will and confided, "Barbossa's daughter."  
"Barbossa?" Will breathed, raising his eyebrows.  
Jack nodded and laid a finger to the side of his nose. Will nodded a little and looked back towards India.  
"Pleased to meet you - nice hat," he said.  
India nodded.  
"This is William Turner's son . Will Turner." Jack paused, then asked of Will, "Is there another name you go by now?" When Will shook his head, Jack continued. "You might have read about his father in - your father's journal."  
India nodded somewhat. In all likelihood, whatever Barbossa had written about old Bootstrap Bill would not be flattering. Bootstrap had caused him considerable grief in connection with the curse of the Aztec gold.  
India extended her hand. "Pleasure's mine. My father knew your father, I guess, though by all accounts their relationship was a bit strained. Anyhow, no hard feelings," she said with a smile.  
If she only knew what I did to her father. Jack thought. He surmised that if she found out it was he who had shot Barbossa, she would be more than furious with him.  
Will shook her hand, then hesitated. "So can I have my ship back?" he inquired.  
"Uh . no," she said.  
"Maybe if you ask her nicely," Jack suggested.  
Will sighed. "Can I have my ship back, please," he tried.  
"No," she repeated.  
"Why not?" he asked.  
She glanced at Jack, who nodded slightly. "We're on a search for treasure," she explained. "We need a ship."  
"What about the Pearl?" Will asked.  
Jack looked a little forlorn. "I gave her up."  
"You what?"  
Jack nodded. "I couldn't keep her once the crew had gone and I had settled in on Tortuga."  
Will was astounded. "But the Pearl was everything to you!" he insisted.  
A fond smile crossed Jack's unhappy face. "Yes," he said quietly. What the Pearl is, is freedom. His own words spun round his head. How could he have given her up, given up the pirate's life in exchange for the land and rum? Well, it had been a bloody lot of rum - but . He had had the whole world, and he had thrown it away. The nostalgia was replaced by suppressed anger.  
"I know," he said roughly. But perhaps with some treasure, he could find her again, or get a new ship. "Anyway, let's get moving, shall we?" he said to dispel his melancholy. As much as he darted around words, he was a man of action, and the thought of actually doing something cheered him.  
Will and India nodded.  
"Now that you're back on board, we won't really be needing an escort, will we?" Jack asked, gesturing to the other ship with a nod of his head.  
"Uh - no, I suppose not," Will answered, his gaze trailing over to the nearby pirate ship.  
"Can you get them to shove off?" Jack asked.  
"Well ." Will said, implying the negative.  
"How did you convince them to follow us?"  
"Pirates will do most anything for money," Will responded.  
"And ..?" Jack urged, not making the connection. Will cleared his throat with a small cough. "You see, Jack, when I enlisted their services to chase after my ship, there was a - shall we say - a fee. I made a sort of downpayment, and then ."  
"You promised them more money once you had reclaimed your ship," India piped in. "Good thinking."  
Will looked over at her and smiled. "That's what I thought, too - but the problem is ." he paused and put a hand to the back of his neck, "I haven't got any more money."  
He turned to Jack.  
"Don't look at me!" Jack said. "Where did you get the money from to pay them in the first place?" he asked.  
"There was a lot of treasure from Isla de la Muerta," Will commented.  
"And ..?" Jack asked.  
"Well, what happened to yours?"  
Jack stared at him. He had managed to spend all the money on women, rum and luxuries in these two short years. Besides, even if he had the money, he wouldn't give it over. He tried to change the subject.  
"We'll have to think of some other way to make them leave," he said.  
"Open fire on them," India suggested.  
Will shook his head.  
"Why not?" she asked. "Let me guess," Jack said, "No cannons."  
"No cannon balls," Will conceded. "We were going to restock in Tortuga but never got the chance."  
Jack and India were mildly unimpressed. No useful guns, no brig to keep prisoners . "I suppose you're not up for trying cutlery again?" Jack asked, alluding to an incident where the Interceptor, under Will, Elizabeth and Annamaria's command, had disposed of all the cannon balls, only to fire knives, forks, and even an empty whiskey flask at the Pearl.  
Will smiled a little but shook his head.  
Jack thought for a minute, then said, "Ask their captain to come aboard."  
"So we can kill him?" India asked.  
Jack shook his head. "Negotiations." . . .  
  
"Slow up," Jack called to the man at the navigator's post. "Bring us alongside yonder boat."  
The man glanced at India for affirmation before responding. Acting in synchronization with the other crew members, the man slowed their progress, and soon they were beside the other ship. Several men stood on deck, looking across the gap at them.  
"Oy!" Jack yelled, jumping up onto some crates, though he already had their complete attention.  
"What do ye want?" came the response.  
"Send your captain over," Jack said. This was met by laughter.  
"Why?"  
"We wish to negotiate terms of payment," Jack called, undaunted.  
There was some muttering among the other men. Finally they came to a consensus. "There'll be no negotiatin' - we're stickin' to the terms as laid out by the kid."  
"I presume they're referring to me," Will commented more quietly.  
"Well, what were your terms?" Jack asked.  
"Payment upon regaining control of my ship."  
"Well you're not in control here," India pointed out.  
"I know," Will said begrudgingly. "But they wouldn't believe it."  
"Try them," she said.  
"What difference will it make?" he asked.  
Jack had already started yelling. "The - kid - says that the agreement was upon his reinstatement as captain of this ship. However, he is not in control here."  
There was more chat on board the other ship. "What are you trying to negotiate, then?"  
Jack paused. He couldn't admit that he didn't know. "Send over your captain and we'll talk."  
"Jack," Will interceded.  
"What?" he asked.  
A member of the other crew called back, "'Ow's about you come over here, and then we'll talk."  
"Just a minute," Jack called, and gave his attention to Will. "What is it?" he repeated.  
"I admit I didn't expect to find you here," Will said.  
Jack stared blankly at him.  
"So my point is I didn't expect to get my ship back at all," he confessed.  
"What were you planning on doing then?" Jack asked.  
"Actually my plan was to ." He paused, then said, "I didn't think it through, Jack. I acted rashly, I admit."  
"Ohh," Jack nodded in something close to annoyance. "Did you just expect to waltz on board, point your knife at the thief, and hold him and his crew until they paid for the rest of your venture?"  
Will's thoughts were elsewhere. "Maybe close to it. It was all a bit rushed. There wasn't time to think if I wanted to keep any hope of catching up with you. Wait. I've got an idea."  
Jack groaned. "Will, look. There are some times when a pirate has to-- "  
Will, ignoring Jack, called to the other ship. "Tell your captain we know where there's treasure and we'll pay him back as soon as we get it."  
India smacked a hand to her forehead. Jack rolled his eyes in disbelief. Did Will know nothing about being a pirate? The first, the very first rule was never to tell men on an opposing pirate ship that you were on a treasure hunt. Well, perhaps it wasn't the very first rule, but close to it. The other pirate crew was fully attentive now, the gears in their crooked minds working to make the most of a chance at finding treasure.  
One man stepped forward. "In that case we'll be coming with you to ensure that when it's found, we're paid."  
"Marvellous," Jack muttered. "Excellent idea," he called.  
"Lead on," they motioned.  
Jack smiled condescendingly but said nothing.  
Having concluded agreements, the other ship dropped behind to a comfortable distance to follow them.  
Will, Jack and India faced each other.  
"Can this ship outrun that one?" Jack asked.  
Will shook his head. "I don't think so."  
"And we can't blow them up ." Jack continued. His mind had begun to turn. What they needed was a plan. A really good one. "We had better think of something before we find the treasure," he mused aloud.  
"Maybe we don't have to find it," India said cryptically.  
The two men waited for an explanation.  
"Maybe we can make them think we're going to find it when really ." She meant to continue, but shook her head. There were several major details that would have to be worked out. For example, what to do when the other ship realized that they weren't actually getting anywhere, and became very, very annoyed. She was betting that the other ship had armed cannons, even if this one did not.  
"Who's the captain of their ship?" Jack asked.  
Will thought for a moment. "I think - a man named Thomas Hawke."  
Jack grimaced.  
"Why, do you know him?" Will asked.  
"More than I'd like to," Jack answered.  
Before he had a chance to explain, one of the crew members came rushing towards him.  
"Captain," he said, "There's a problem below deck."  
Jack glanced over at Will, whose expression betrayed nothing, then at India, who shrugged and urged him to go investigate.  
"All right. I'll be there presently," he sighed, and followed the man. With an uncertain confidence in his swagger, Jack made his way across the ship, and down the steps below deck to see what the fuss was about. When they were deep within the belly of the ship, the man who had been leading the way paused to indicate that they had arrived.  
"Now what seems to be the problem?" Jack asked, his eyes adjusting to the dark surroundings.  
"There's a girl down here," the pirate said in a lowered voice. Several other men had gathered around to witness the excitement.  
Jack's mind went to one thing. "Well, bring her out then," he instructed them. There was only one way to be sure .  
"Come out, come out love," one of the pirates called. There was no movement for a prolonged instant, then some of the onlookers went into the darkness to drag her out.  
"Gently!" Jack warned. There were some things he would not tolerate, and the mistreatment of a woman was one of them. Well, all right, the mistreatment of a woman by other men. When there was no risk to him for intervening. Most of the time.  
She emerged, with assistance from several of the men. Jack squinted his eyes in question. It certainly looked like her.  
"Elizabeth?" he asked. 


	5. Renegade Swann

Five. Renegade Swann  
  
"Jack!" she said, in something between surprise, disappointment, and disgust. She shrugged away from the men who had escorted her out of her hiding place.  
Yes, it was certainly her. That same fiery temper had prevented Jack from ever getting closer to her. Of course it probably hadn't helped that he had held her hostage upon their first meeting - but he had saved the girl's life, and as he had pointed out, they were even. Anyhow, all that was long gone, and she loved Will and Jack was best without anyone who needed commitment in a relationship.  
"I was wondering whether you would be here," he began - considering that Will was aboard, and the two were inseparable.  
"I must say that you're the last person I expected to see," she said with audible distaste.  
"Now love, let's not quarrel over the past," he began.  
"I'm not quarreling. You're the one who resorted to force in order to drag me out here," she pointed out irritatedly.  
"Well, why were you hiding to begin with?" he wondered.  
"Don't be stupid, Jack. I didn't know who had taken over the ship. For all I knew it could have been a fearsome brigand. And likely if it had been anyone other than you I would have been best to stay in the dark," she shot.  
"You mean you wanted to see me?" he asked, smirking.  
"No, but anyone else might actually have been threatening," Elizabeth retorted.  
"I'm wounded, love," he said in a hurt voice. Shoving his dignity forefront, he continued, "Now, why don't we make our way up into the sunlight and find Will, shall we?"  
"That's the first sane idea I can remember you ever having," she said.  
"Thank you," he answered, not without irony.  
Accompanied by several other pirates, Jack and Elizabeth made their way above deck to join Will and India.  
Immediately, Elizabeth ran to Will, and he swept her into his arms.  
"I'm glad to see you're safe," she commented.  
"Same to you," he said.  
"You know I can take care of myself," she reminded him.  
He nodded with a smile. "I see you found our friend Jack," Will continued.  
"Or rather, he found me," she admitted. "Well, at least, some of his men did. I could have stayed hidden if I wanted," she insisted.  
"Of course you could," Jack interrupted. Will and Elizabeth continued to hold each other silently, seemingly oblivious to the ship around them.  
"Who is this?" India asked.  
"This is Elizabeth - Miss Swann. She's a particular friend of Will's. Not sure if they're married yet though," Jack answered.  
"It's none of your business, but we aren't," Elizabeth clarified, "yet." She looked back at Will.  
"Hmph," India muttered.  
"I'm sure you two will get along splendidly," Jack commented, then turned to meander up to the prow of the ship.  
  
"Where's she headed?" he casually asked the man at the helm.  
"Due east," he replied, "Captain - I mean, Miss India's orders. She won't say nothing more about where we're headed or how long it will take."  
"God man - er, woman ." Jack said. The last thing they needed was to be marooned. Although he wasn't sure whether any members of the crew would actually think of marooning her. She seemed to be respected for some reason. It's the hat, he thought to himself. Which reminds me .  
"India, darling," he shouted. "You wouldn't happen to have me hat anywhere by any chance, would you?" he asked.  
She glared at him to let him know that she was upset about him calling her darling, especially in front of everyone aboard the ship.  
"No I haven't," she answered, "And if I did I wouldn't give it to you!"  
"Have you known him long?" Elizabeth asked.  
"No," India said, "mercifully."  
"Mn." Elizabeth nodded, then confided, "He doesn't improve much even after you're used to him."  
Will objected. "He saved our lives," he reminded her.  
"You saved his, more like it," Elizabeth said.  
"Well, yes, that too," Will admitted.  
Jack was still standing beside the helm, his hands on the banister, staring out at sea. The light was fading. It had been an exhausting day, but thus far he had managed to commandeer a ship and find his old friend Will. And he was back at sea. Lord, it felt good. On the water, he felt confident. Here, there were no rules. Here, he was in control. And yet he was missing two . no, three of the things that make a pirate happy - his hat, his rum, and his woman. He would likely find none of these on this godforsaken ship. Not that he had a particular woman, but then, that was the beauty of being a pirate. There were no commitments to worry about.  
After a long time, Jack turned to find that Will, India, and Elizabeth had disappeared.  
"Where have they gone to now?" he asked the man at the helm.  
"Likely they've retired below deck to their cabins, captain," he replied.  
"Ah," Jack muttered, taking one last look at the darkening sky. He considered something for a moment, then suggested, "Don't you think it's about time you did the same?"  
"Well, Miss India told me to stay here until - "  
"I think it's about time you went below deck as well," repeated Jack carefully. The man took the hint and gave up the helm. Jack stepped forward and set his hands gently, lovingly on the wheel. The stars were coming out. Getting his bearings, Jack directed the ship eastward. He glanced behind the ship, at the other ship which was still following them. Captain Hawke had been Jack's rival in his earlier days, in the days before the Pearl. If Hawke was the captain of that ship . Jack shoved those memories aside and mused how he might be able to get rid of them. Then he shoved those thoughts aside as well when he realized how thirsty he was.  
"Oy," Jack called to a pirate on watch duty nearby.  
The man turned towards him. "What be the trouble?"  
Captain, Jack thought wearily. "You're one of Will's men, aren't you?" he asked.  
"That I am," he replied.  
"Good," Jack beamed. "Then maybe you can answer a question."  
"I can try."  
Jack was about to ask whether there was any rum aboard, but at that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned. The other man stepped back several paces, not wishing to intrude.  
"Will!" Jack said with a grin. Who better to ask than the captain whether there was any drink aboard? Then, he hesitated for dread of the answer. "Have you got any rum?" The words escaped from his lips before he could stop himself, but immediately he knew that, like a brig or useful cannons, there would be no rum on Will's ship. Will had never been fond of the stuff. Captain Jack Sparrow would likely have fainted if he thought it possible that Will had ever even once been drunk.  
Will, predictably, shook his head.  
"Right," Jack sighed.  
"Why don't you come inside, Jack?" Will said. "We were discussing what should be done about the treasure, but we wanted your opinion on something."  
Jack wasn't sure whether to be angry that they had been discussing something important without him, or honoured that they had decided that his opinion was important enough to come back on deck to obtain.  
"I think I'll stay up here a while longer. What was it that you wanted to ask?" Jack tried. He had just realized the amount of freedom he had regained on board a ship, and wasn't ready to be confined to a cabin quite yet. He wanted to enjoy the night.  
Will opened his mouth and paused before speaking. "We - that is, India - thought we ought to stand and fight them off," he gestured with his head towards the other ship, "but Elizabeth and I think that it would be best to keep going. After all, if there's so much treasure, what harm is there in sharing it a few more ways? India doesn't seem to understand that this ship can't stand and fight. At least, not until she's re-armed. But she won't listen to reason, Jack. She ." Will broke off, and shrugged with a plea.  
"What am I to do about it?" Jack asked scornfully. "Do you think that I can communicate with the girl?"  
"You were always the diplomatic one, Jack. You can convince any man of anything," Will said with a touch of admiration.  
Jack took the compliment with pleasure. "But that's the problem, Will. She's a woman."  
Will sighed.  
"Look," Jack began. "I'll be down in a moment. I just want to spend a little more time up here looking at the stars," he explained.  
Will looked skyward, then nodded. "Yes, we all seem fascinated with things that are out of reach, don't we?" Will rubbed his forehead and stifled a yawn. "Anyhow. Elizabeth and I are getting tired, so if you could toss in your opinion soon we'd love to have you."  
Jack nodded. "I said I'd be down and I will," he assured Will.  
Uncertain, Will turned to leave. "By the way . what's your lovely boat called?" Jack asked.  
"I named her the Renegade Swann," Will answered with a smile, then he returned below deck.  
"Renegade Swann, hmm?" Jack murmured to himself. He gazed up at the stars. Was he fascinated by things he could never have? No, he was Captain Jack Sparrow, and as such, he always got what he wanted. And at the moment .  
"No bloody rum on this bloody boat," he grumbled to himself. He glanced at the pirate from Will's crew to whom he had been speaking when Will had interrupted. Jack let out a small melancholy sigh.  
The man wandered uncertainly towards him. "Sir?" he asked.  
"Hmm?"  
The man began in a hushed voice, "Captain Will doesn't approve of rum aboard his ship. But I know where you can find some. Come with me," the man gestured.  
Jack raised his eyebrows hopefully. Maybe the night wouldn't be wasted after all. . . .  
  
There was a healthy supply of rum stashed aboard the ship. Jack wondered faintly how long it might take him to drink his way through it. There was something almost self-mocking in his question; a quality which tried to surface when he was rested and sober that begged him to stay that way. Luckily for Captain Jack Sparrow, this state didn't arise often. And so he rarely thought of self-improvement. That sort of thing was only for other people. And rum, he asserted, raising a bottle to his mouth, was for him.  
He hummed to himself: a low, uneven, gravelly sort of sound. The tune was more drunken than melodic, but no one was around to hear him so he didn't mind. Of course, he reasoned, he wouldn't care if someone did hear him.  
Hmm, someone did want to talk to him about something. He tried to remember. Ah yes, the poser-pirate trio. What did they know about ships or treasure or outsmarting opponents?  
"Nothing," he muttered, to reassure himself. Still .  
Would he go to see what Will and India and Elizabeth wanted to talk to him about? Oh, they had likely gone to bed by now anyway. He would have to apologize in the morning, he compromised with himself.  
Jack wandered through the corridor. His foot hit something in the darkness.  
"Ow," it cursed.  
Jack took a quick step back. "Who's there?" he demanded, startled.  
"Me name's Kent," a slightly inebriated voice responded, "and ye kicked me shin!"  
"I'm terribly sorry," Jack replied. "What are you doing in the middle of the hallway?"  
"No bloody cabins for us," replied the man. "Miss India didn't count on having so many people aboard, I reckon."  
Jack nodded though the man would not be able to see him in the darkness.  
"The treasure had bloody well better be worth it," another voice commented from the darkness. Jack jumped again.  
"How many of you are there?" he asked. There were murmurs down the hallway.  
"About a dozen or so, I'd say," came Kent's voice again.  
"All right. I'll see what I can do for you lads," Jack promised.  
There were a few scattered thanks, though for the most part they sounded skeptical, tired, or drunken. Jack made to keep going down the hallway.  
"Mind where yer steppin' now," Kent warned him.  
"Thanks," Jack replied, and shuffled around the scattered bodies, stepping on more than he succeeded in avoiding. His apologies answered the vocal complaints from the men on the floor, but finally, he made his way past the cabinless crew.  
As he continued on his way, Jack noticed an illuminated outline of a rectangle a distance down the corridor. As he got closer, he realized that the light streamed out from beneath the doorway of one of the cabins. Whoever was inside must be awake. Jack looked behind him, as if to retrace his steps, or perhaps to make sure no one was watching. He stumbled down the hallway until he reached the door, then carefully, he peered in though the keyhole. The figure of a girl faced away from him, illuminated by candlelight, and from what he could see, there was no one else in the room. He concluded, from the scattered objects, that the room must be Elizabeth's, and likewise, that the figure was Elizabeth. He might as well apologize now for not going to talk to them, he thought. Elizabeth . She was a funny girl, wanting to be on a pirate ship, and with Will. But then, most of the girls he had spent any amount of time with were a little odd that way. India certainly wasn't what he would consider normal, and Annamaria, though she was certainly a fine woman to have around, insisted belligerently on being treated as a man of the crew. "Elizabeth, Elizabeth," he murmured to himself. She was an intelligent girl, yet sassy enough to be contrary. All right, to the point of annoyance at times, and she tended to be defensive because of her upbringing as a governor's daughter. As a matter of fact, he didn't understand her much at all . but at the moment these thoughts were not clear in his head.  
She was as good a man as any to speak to about the conditions on the ship, he supposed. He would see what this renegade Swann had to say. 


	6. Jack of Hearts

Six . Jack of Hearts  
  
Elizabeth awoke with a start and a frightened gasp. There were tears in her eyes. She still had frequent nightmares about the skeleton crew of the Pearl, and tonight was no exception. Being at sea at night always reminded her of Barbossa and his ghoulish men. Frightened in the dark, she reached hesitantly over to light a candle lamp sitting on her bedside table.  
She forced herself to forget about the dream. She was just being silly for dwelling on the incident. Elizabeth stared at the light from the flame for a long time, trying to calm herself.  
A sound slowly brought her mind back from where it had been drifting. It took her a moment to realize that there was someone knocking on her cabin door. A little apprehensively, Elizabeth sat up in bed, and picked up the lamp. Standing up and putting on a night-robe, she wandered across the small room. Who could it be? Will had already tucked her in and kissed her goodnight. And if any of the members of the crew had a problem, they would take it to Will to be resolved, not to her.  
Fighting down her fear, her mind still vividly picturing zombie pirates, she opened the door. The light from the lamp she held in her hands flooded into the darkened passage, and she shrieked at the form.  
"Elizabeth, love," an unforgettable voice comforted her. "It's just me. I wanted to talk to you about the -"  
Jack. It was just Jack. Immediately her fear dispersed and annoyance replaced it.  
"- It's Miss Swann if you please, and what are you doing intruding at this time of night? Please go away; you woke me up," she lied.  
"Since you're awake, may I come in?" he asked.  
"No," she answered, but he had already wandered past her into the cabin regardless.  
"Excuse me!" she said, raising her voice.  
"Now, calm down," he soothed. "I just thought you might like some company, since your light was on," he tried. "And I wanted to ask about -"  
"- For your knowledge, I was having a bad dream, but I'll be fine now, thank you. If you would be so good as to leave, Mr Sparrow," she continued.  
He sat down on her bed. She narrowed her eyes at him.  
"Just what do you think you are doing?" she demanded.  
"Why don't you take a seat?" he asked.  
"I will not," she responded.  
"All right, why don't you lie down then," he said, though she obviously didn't notice the sarcasm.  
"You're filthy, Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth cried in shock. "At best of times you can't be trusted, but it sounds as though you've been drinking on top of that!" she said with distaste.  
"You're a clever girl, Elizabeth," Jack laughed. "But seriously," he stood.  
"- Must I remind you, Will is just next door!" Elizabeth warned him, backing away.  
"We can be quiet," Jack assured her. All he wanted to do was talk, though she might never believe it. He paused and sighed. What was the use? He might as well act as she expected him to. "What would you say if I told you I fancied you?" he asked.  
She hesitated for a fraction of a second. "I wouldn't believe you. I would reassert that you were drunk."  
He smiled sardonically. "That would likely be my reaction too. So don't expect me to say anything of the sort," he said.  
"You . Ough!" Elizabeth exclaimed indignantly. She backed up, knocking over a figurine, which clattered noisily to the floor.  
"Careful now," Jack said. "We wouldn't want to wake Will, would we?" he asked.  
"Why not?" came a voice from the doorway. Jack looked towards the open door with a start. Will stood there, looking as unimpressed as Elizabeth. Jack looked from Will to Elizabeth uncertainly, then moved toward the doorway, which unfortunately also meant moving closer to Will.  
"Ah ha ." Jack did his best to smile innocently. "I was just bidding Elizabeth good night," he explained. "I'll be leaving now, if you don't mind."  
"Actually I do mind, Jack," Will began tensely, standing squarely in the doorway. "While you're aboard my ship, there are some things your warped pirate mind had bloody well straighten out."  
"Of course, Will," Jack began almost fawningly. "First of all, I'd like to say: this isn't what it looks like. You - "  
"Don't start with me," Will cut him off in an irritated tone. "I don't want your explanations. I trusted you, Heaven only knows why considering you stole my ship; but since then you have somehow managed to get my crew drunk, and have repeatedly tried to intimidate Elizabeth. As a man, and as captain of this ship, I will not tolerate either."  
"A man! Captain? . Damned eunuchs," muttered Jack to himself. He realized that his only option would be to attempt to scare Will in return. "Which reminds me," he said. "There isn't room on this ship for both your crew and India's - I mean my - men," he began menacingly. Then he faltered. "Some of them don't even have cabins, not including the ones who are on duty above deck. And how do you know I was the one who got your crew drunk?"  
"Basic arithmetic," Will replied. "You are here. That should be proof enough. On top of that, however, you were asking for rum earlier, and subsequently several of my men came to speak to me, drunk. Plus, you also now smell of alcohol. I may be young Jack, but I'm not stupid."  
"Oh, so bringing your ship into port in Tortuga was a bright move," Jack said, but Will barely paid attention.  
"I can't take the chance that your intentions and actions, when drunk, will be honourable. And you're quite right, Jack," Will said snidely, "There isn't room on this ship for both of us." . . .  
  
Jack stood out in the hot sun, busily regretting his words. Obviously Will was not able to take a joke. And apparently Elizabeth meant more to him than his friendship with Jack. The first point was self-evident: the boy had no sense of humour. But the second part? Deep down, Jack treasured friendship, even if appearances tended to be otherwise. It hurt that Will was abandoning him in favour of Elizabeth.  
The Renegade Swann had weighed anchor a mile or so off shore of a medium-sized sand-and-palm-tree island, and both crews were gathered on board. The other ship hovered off in the distance, waiting to see what was going on.  
Will and Jack were arguing. Rather, Will was dictating what ought to be done, and Jack was trying to fight for dear life. Not to mention the life of the crew that he had dragged into trouble as well.  
"What?" Jack demanded.  
"As you pointed out, there isn't enough room on this ship for both of us. Someone's got to go, and let's face it - it's you," Will said calmly.  
"Lovely joke, Will. You make a fine pirate. Hahaha," Jack laughed.  
"It's no joke, Jack," Will repeated seriously, "You're going to jump from here and swim ashore."  
"What about the crew?" Jack asked.  
"Never mind the crew. Sorry Jack - do it."  
"You know, there's a way around this, Will. See, you -"  
Will shook his head, and pointed his cutlass at Jack.  
Jack gulped, his smile long since faded. Finally, he shrugged, turned, stepped to the side of the boat, then climbed up and stood balanced precariously on the edge of the railing. "Well, you're a fine friend," Jack said, sounding honest. "And I hate for it to end this way. I hope you'll always -" but the waves caused the ship to sway enough that Jack lost his balance. With an undignified yelp he fell over the side and splashed into the water. India grinned, though she knew her turn was next.  
Jack certainly knew how to get into the worst situation possible, India noted. Apparently some quarrel between him and Will had led to this: Jack, India, and crew were being marooned on the closest island. All right, perhaps 'marooned' was too strong a term; they were being left with provisions and the possibility of being picked up by Captain Hawke's ship . but the outcome was much the same.  
She turned to Will. "I must say it's been a pleasure and I wish you the best of luck," she said, and turned to make ready to leap in and follow Jack.  
"India - wait," Will said. She paused and turned to look at him. "We'll take you closer to shore," he compromised, "and give you a rowboat."  
"Thank you," she said, half surprised and half sarcastically. "I hope someday I can return the favour."  
  
The ship headed closer to the island. Jack could be easily seen above the water, confidently though somewhat messily swimming towards the shore. His layers of clothing, which, waterlogged, would be heavy enough to drag him down to the depths of Davy Jones' locker, were strategically being shed. He paused for a moment, treading water while removing his overcoat, and glanced at the Renegade Swann. He became indignant once he realized that Will was letting the rest of the crew have a boat instead of making them swim.  
"Bloody fine way to repay your mate," he muttered angrily. "I could 'ave 'ad your Elizabeth if I'd wanted to! Who do you bloody well think I am?" he asked rhetorically. "Well I'll bloody tell you. I'm bloody Captain Jack Sparrow!" he snarled. "Bloody incompetent pirates," he grumbled, then exhaled noisily and continued swimming towards the island.  
  
Once he reached the beach, Jack was exhausted, drenched in saltwater, and in a very bad temper.  
Sloshing himself ashore, his clothing clinging to his body and his bare feet stumbling in the sand, Jack cursed to himself and contemplated whether he ought to fly into a rage when he found India. Before he had a chance to decide, he looked up, and found that India and the crew were already ashore and getting themselves organized to set up camp.  
Although it was only around midday, he guessed that everyone would be trying to find food or rum or something else to help pass the time. He had never been marooned with so many people before, Jack noted - for what it was worth. Perhaps it mightn't be such a bad experience this time - or perhaps it would be worse, he realized, because he would have to try to get along with a lot more people.  
He stood still for a while watching them before deciding to do anything. India, he noticed, was still giving orders. After a moment, someone pointed him out, and India paused what she was doing to look over at him. They exchanged a blank look, and he scowled, then sulked off to find another corner of the island. There was no way he was going to be marooned with that woman.  
  
There was a quiet inlet to the north side of the island, and slowly Jack trudged his way there, discovering it quite by accident as he muttered slurred phrases of contempt to his sobering self. The sun was still rather hot, almost directly overhead, and his clothes, at least, were beginning to dry. There was nothing he disliked quite so much as the feeling of salt crusting on his skin, except perhaps being left on some god-forsaken island and having salt crust on him on top of that. Frankly it stung, and he felt a bit like he were being roasted alive under the hot sun, seasoning and all.  
With an exaggerated sigh, he climbed on top of a large rock jutting out over the water, and looked out across the small bay. There was too much for his mellowed pirate mind to try think about. To begin with, what would he eat, or drink? Next, what would he do for companionship? Being alone was a rather . lonely experience, and not one he cared to deal with at the moment. Yet who was there to talk to, sing with, drink with? Surely not India; and the rest of the men would likely not be in the highest spirits with him since it was his fault they had been stranded here. Why had Will taken offence to Jack's actions? That boy simply didn't understand pirate methodology at all. Sometimes talking to women, like Elizabeth, wasn't about sex at all. Maybe Jack had just wanted her opinion.  
He sighed. Nextly, what did Will plan on doing now that he had dumped half the people on his ship? Will still needed to find some way to pay Captain Hawke, and that meant that he would still be interested in finding the treasure. However, India was no longer able to lead the way since she was no longer aboard the Swann, and unless she had left explicit directions to the treasure, Jack doubted very much that Will would be able to find it on his own. Of course, that meant that Captain Hawke was still sailing around somewhere. Would he try to pursue Will, or stay to watch India and the rest of her crew?  
Jack Sparrow wished very dearly at the moment that he still had his hat. At least he had dried off, but the sun forced sweat to bead on his face. How was he going to get off this wretched island?  
Jack turned, deciding to make his way back to camp and try to make amends with the crew. He misjudged, slipped, and flailed backwards, the water rushing up to meet him.  
  
Splash!  
  
"Bloody hell!"  
  
Jack arrived back at camp in waterlogged tatters. India did her best to suppress her laughter while Jack scowled.  
"We'll see if it's so funny once I shove you underwater," he threatened, not loud enough for her to hear.  
"Well, if it isn't the Jack of Hearts himself," she called. "Though I'm not sure whether I'm glad to see you've decided to join us."  
"Join you?" he asked, amazed.  
"Yes, I see your point," she admitted. "If it weren't for you ..." she made a sour face, and chose some words with which to continue.  
He braced himself. Now that he had got her started, there would never be an end to it.  
"Yes, bloody brilliant, Jack," India spat. "I knew I could leave it to you to really foul things up. If I had been allowed to control the ship, we wouldn't be in this mess," she declared.  
"Look, do you want me here or not?" he asked. "Wait, don't answer that. I don't want to know. I'll tell you what, India. I'll sit here and behave meself, and you can stop reminding me I'm not perfect. What do ye say to that?"  
"As long as it means you'll keep your mouth shut, I have no complaints," she shrugged, trying to look impassive.  
"As long as I keep me mouth shut?" he asked. That woman never stopped complaining! "Whatever you say, love," he smiled condescendingly. It would do no good to argue at the moment. Jack found himself a place to sit, and stayed there, staring out at the ocean while people worked around him. . . .  
  
"You're cheating!"  
"I am not!"  
"Yes you are! I bloody saw that!"  
"What do you mean? There was nothing to see," India defended herself. She, Jack, and several other crew members sat on the beach, in the firelight, playing cards. There was no rum in sight, and they had resorted to games to pass the time. However, the lack of alcohol seemed to make Jack particularly irritable; or perhaps it was just a compilation of everything bad that had happened over the past couple days.  
Jack sighed.  
India sighed back. "If you're going to be that way, perhaps I don't want to play," she warned him.  
"Fine," he replied sulkily, beginning to stand up.  
"Captain Jack!" Gibbs pleaded. "Where ye be going, man? There's naught but dark island and wavy sea out yonder," he said with a fleeting wave of his hand.  
"Yes, thank you for that marvellous observation," Jack replied dryly. "Perhaps I'm going to explore." With that, he turned his back to them and began to saunter away down the beach.  
"Is he always like that?" India asked of Gibbs once Jack was some distance away.  
"Aye," Gibbs acknowledged. "Not always; but Jack's a strange one, that he is. Never can tell what he be thinkin' or what he may do. They say that his wits are a little addled from the sun and the salt and the strain of the life at sea - and the rum - but he's sharp as a nail when he has a mind to be. Aye, though I'm sure we all wish that were more often," he admitted with a smile.  
India returned the smile, then stood up as well. Perhaps a walk would be a good idea. 


	7. Birds Not of A Feather

Seven . Birds Not of A Feather  
  
Jack kicked at the sand with his bare feet, trailing steadily away from the crew and the campfire. He needed to calm himself, he reasoned, admitting that he had been rather moody lately. Then he thought about it. Why should he be the one to calm himself? The others were just as bad! India had a nasty temper, and if Will had been able to control his emotions, perhaps they would all still be aboard the Swann. It wasn't him who needed to get a grip, he finally decided, it was everyone else!  
With a final angry kick, Jack sat down on the sandy ground and pulled his knees up to his chest. Gazing out at the moonlight on the sea, he realized how lonely it could be on the island at night by himself. It was only his second night away from Tortuga in over two years, and in Tortuga there were always people all the time and it was impossible to feel alone or unwanted. Last night, of course, he had been rather in no state to be lonely, but here, in the middle of nowhere . He hugged himself closer, trying to find comfort in assuring himself that everything would be all right. At least Will had left them with food and supplies. Perhaps the boy was half-decent after all. Perhaps there was something else on his mind, or some reason for stranding them here other than the fact that Jack had been talking to Elizabeth in her room in the middle of the night.  
  
A long time of solitude passed before India wandered her way over, sitting beside Jack unannounced. Neither of them said anything for a while, and they sat, staring out at the sea.  
"You must have led a very interesting life, Jack," India murmured.  
Jack thought back. Yes, she didn't know the half of it, but he had been through some exciting times. "You make it sound like I'm dead," he began with a smile. "I've still plenty more adventures to go," he added.  
"Oh -" she began hurriedly, "That's not what I meant. It's just that . well, I've never really . what I mean is - really the only experience I have is from my father's journals, and I haven't -" She shut her mouth. India seemed angry at herself, either for trying to express her emotions, or not being able to find the words with which to do so.  
"You know, there's more to being a pirate than treasure and adventure," Jack assured her.  
She stiffened. "What, you mean like being a man and giving orders?"  
He shook his head. "No, India ." he had been going to explain that it wasn't all fun and games, that it involved fighting and betrayal and loss, that sometimes being at sea meant going hungry or crazy or both, and that in the end . he wasn't sure if it was worth it. He definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone else as a lifestyle, and now that he was out, he wasn't sure whether he wanted back in.  
And yet, how could he explain the thrill of the chase, the joy of being at sea, of seeing the sun rise over the ocean, or the gleam of treasure reflecting off the surroundings? How could he explain to someone who had never experienced life at sea how addictive, how exhilarating it was? He could barely explain it to himself.  
"There are just some things you wouldn't understand," he spoke softly.  
"What, because I'm a silly girl?" she shot back, standing up.  
"Maybe that is why," Jack said angrily. "If you weren't so silly, maybe you would see that -"  
That did it. Without a word, without so much as a slap, India stood up. There were tears brimming in her eyes, and the look she gave Jack was one mixed with layers of emotion, the hatred covering despair. What was the matter? What was she hiding?  
From her expression, Jack could only guess at what she was feeling, but his intuition told him that something was haunting her, something was driving her to this quest. Perhaps there was more to this girl than a temper and a big hat, Jack thought, as he watched her storm away down the beach. . . .  
  
India stumbled across the sand, the tears blurring her vision and streaming down her face. Who was that idiot Sparrow to tell her what she ought to do, or what she could or couldn't understand? She had tried to be so strong, to be able to compete with these men. Her emotions had been callous for a long time, almost since she was too young to remember. How did this man manage to make her feelings run out of control?  
"Get a grip on yourself, India," she scolded herself harshly. "He's only a stupid pirate. He's as bad as yer ol' da,'" she said. Her first memories of her father were of him scolding her for being unsensible. Her last memories, too, were of him telling her that she could never follow in his footsteps.  
"Girls aren't meant to be at sea. Stay with yer mother if you know what's good for ye, lass," he had told her, and he had meant it. She wasn't sure, after all this, whether she wanted to make him proud, or go against his wishes.  
She didn't dare to look back down the beach, for fear that Jack might be watching her. Oh, what did it matter? She asked herself harshly. It wasn't like she cared what he did. Stupid pirate, she thought to herself. She was almost sick of the bloody lot of them.  
She paused and turned to look back, but Jack's form was too dark to make out from the rest of the darkness. Only the sea reflected any light, and the bonfire was barely visible a distance down the shoreline where the rest of the crew had set up camp. She rounded to keep walking, but bumped into something. Several somethings, actually, with cutlasses drawn and hands reaching toward her.  
"Jac-!"  
There was barely time for a muffled shout before they had covered her mouth. She struggled to break loose.  
There was laughter. "Easy now, lass," a man's rough voice urged. She tried to bite on the hand that covered her mouth, but only managed to slobber as it clamped harder.  
"Oy! She's tryin' to bite me hand, Cap'n!" a voice protested closer to her, presumably belonging to the man who held his hand over her mouth. She was still kicking, with no regard for what they had to say. Finally several more men pinned her feet to the ground, while another smacked her upside the head.  
"Now, are ye going to be quiet, missy, or are we gonna have to use force?" the first voice asked, with a touch of irony.  
She didn't reply. At a gesture, the man eased his hand off her mouth so that she could speak. "Jack!" she yelled again, before another man cuffed her with his fist.  
"No more o' that, you hear, lass!" the voice warned, "or we'll have to slit your pretty throat. Pirate's honour. And we will keep to our word," he threatened. One of the underlings placed a cutlass to her throat. She was accordingly silent.  
By now, she was too stunned to know whether she ought to cry or do what they wanted or try to be strong and somehow defy them.  
"Now, miss," the leader's voice asked once she had remained calm for a minute. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Hawke." He stepped closer so that she might be able to see him in the dim light. He was a tall man, taller than Jack, with what appeared to be greasy, graying-blonde hair sticking out haphazardly from beneath a tricorn hat. He wore once- resplendent clothing, of a dark colour indistinguishable in the darkness of the night, ripped and tattered at the edges. He had proud features, which might once have been considered handsome, but past that, he bore little resemblance to Captain Sparrow. And yet where Jack seemed accident-prone, a little lost, and haughtily endearing, this man seemed threatening and completely in control.  
"We don't want any trouble," he continued.  
"That's good," India replied, "neither do I. Why don't you fellows let me go, and we'll both get what we want then, hmm?" she tried.  
Hawke smiled a little. "There's a little more to it than that, missy," he informed her. "Now you see, all we're wanting is our share of the treasure. You know where it is, don't you?" he asked, "Or at least you can direct us to someone who does. That's why you were left here, wasn't it? To find the treasure and guard it while young Turner tried to lead us away?" He paused but awaited no answer. "We're not that easily fooled, girl, so tell us where it is."  
"Or what?" she asked. "I haven't got the treasure. I don't know where it is," she tried. "And actually, we weren't left here to find the treasure. There was a misunderstanding, and we were just left here. Understand?" In that context, India realized, Jack would have used the word 'savvy.' She wondered briefly whether she should adopt his speech and mannerisms. They were rather effective, she thought. Before she had a chance to continue, though, Hawke raised a warning hand to silence her.  
"Now, don't ye be trying any of that nonsense with me, m'dear," he said. "Maybe ye didn't hear me right the first time, so I'll repeat what we're here for, just so you'll be sure to understand. We want the treasure," he spoke more slowly, as though she were a little thick. "You . are going to lead us to it."  
She shook her head. There was no way she was going to let these men treat her this way, even if they did have a sword to her throat. "No, you listen to me. I don't know who has your bloody treasure, but I don't. And I can't lead you to it because it isn't here. Savvy?" she added for effect. In fact, she had no idea where she was. This island could be anywhere, and she was determined not to lead these men to her father's treasure, even if it meant that she would take the knowledge of its whereabouts with her to the grave. There were some things she would not accept, and being told what to do was one of them.  
Captain Hawke was not amused. "All right, lass. I've had just about enough. Now, I'll ask one more thing of ye before I let me crew tear ye apart." He waited to be sure that she was listening. Something caught his eye behind her. "What in the blazes is he doing here?" he asked in shock. Somehow she got the impression that that was not going to be his question.  
Carefully, she turned to glance behind her.  
Jack!  
She exhaled. Oh, for once, she was glad to see him. Then her spirits dropped. If there was one man who could blunder a rescue, it would be Jack Sparrow.  
"Let her go, Hawke," he said calmly. India's mouth dropped open. It was the most straightforward set of words she had ever heard him speak. And she didn't see how it could possibly help the situation.  
Hawke, obviously not as impressed, laughed. "And why should I do that, Jack?" he asked.  
Captain Jack Sparrow narrowed his eyes. "You never did listen," he muttered. "I said let her go." Jack brushed his way easily into the midst of the group, carefully taking hold of the end of the cutlass at India's throat and pointing it elsewhere. Prying her out of several men's hands, who seemed reluctant to let her go, Jack held her close to protect her, while backing away from Captain Hawke. The other men backed up as well, both to give Jack some room, and to make sure that he was surrounded should he try to escape. India squirmed her way out of Jack's grasp, but stayed close, eyeing the other men in suspicion.  
"Well Jack," Hawke smiled, "you win, I suppose," he said with an exaggerated shrug. "You always did have a way with the ladies, and of course, you seem to have us at an impasse. Quite a defense you've got, lad. What do you say, boys?" he asked. His men laughed as well. Hawke continued. "That was all very brave of you, Jack, to come waltzing in here, but now you realize of course that you won't be waltzing out again so easily."  
Jack didn't look ruffled.  
"What say you, men?" Hawke asked. "Shall we let him in on our little secret?" Again not waiting for an answer, he explained, "We were just informing your bonny lass here that she was going to lead us to the treasure."  
Jack thought of warning her not to tell them where it was, but then thought better of it. "And what makes you think she'd go and do a thing like that?" he asked.  
"She didn't really have any other choice," Hawke said, motioning for his men to secure them both. Several men grabbed hold of India, while the rest crowded threateningly around Jack.  
"Well that was a fine plan, Jack," she said sarcastically. "Any more thoughts?" "You're the one who walked into their trap to begin with!" he pointed out.  
"If you hadn't been shouting at me, I wouldn't have been where they could capture me," she shot back.  
"I wasn't shouting at you! You wouldn't let me explain. You just stormed away before -"  
"Quiet, both of you!" Hawke warned.  
Jack and India stood facing each other, several men holding each of them. India wasn't sure whether it was so that they wouldn't attack each other, or so they wouldn't attack Hawke and his men.  
"Now, before I get really angry, I'm going to ask politely. Lead me to the bloody treasure if you know what's good for you!" Hawke demanded.  
"No!" Jack and India replied in unison.  
"Right men. Bind them. I'm warning you, Jack. I'll do what needs to be done to find out where that treasure is."  
Jack braced himself as the men found some rope from somewhere and tied his hands and feet. Something similar was happening to India. And Hawke, he knew, would be true to his word.  
He didn't know how India would fare, but Jack knew that he would squeal under torture. So he was exceedingly glad that he didn't actually know where the treasure was.  
Jack was led away, hopping awkwardly because of the fact that his feet were bound. He thought about yelling to the rest of his crew, but judged that he would be too far away, and that the attempt would only result in a slap across the face or a kick in the ribs. So for the moment, he kept his mouth shut. He took a seat in the sand as the men shoved him to the ground. All he could think to do was wait, or scheme, or think of a plea to keep himself from being tortured.  
  
Hawke approached India casually, his hands behind his back. He stalked back and forth in front of her, contemplating the many ways he could extract the information from her.  
"Where is the treasure?" he asked.  
"I don't know," she replied.  
"Where is it?"  
"Maybe there isn't one."  
"WHERE IS IT?"  
"Why don't you go ask Will Turner? He's the one with the boat. He's the one who told you about it in the first place."  
"Why don't you tell me where it is, and we can do away with these unpleasantries?" Hawke suggested menacingly, drawing closer to her, and removing her hat, letting it fall to the ground behind her.  
"Look, you sadistic maniac," India said, gritting her teeth, "I wouldn't tell you where the treasure was even if I did know, so you might as well save yourself some time . and leave me alone!"  
"Come now love, you know you don't mean that," Hawke purred, his face close to India's. Sensing the opportune moment, she spat on him.  
Unamused, he backed up, wiping the slimy liquid from his face. "You'll be sorry for that," he said, and struck her with the back of his hand. She recoiled, her face contorted with pain.  
"I still won't tell you where it is!" she yelled.  
His expression burned into her. India continued to glare at him defiantly, though her mouth was bleeding. "Wench," he hissed, and he turned his back to her, making his way towards Jack, who waited, terrified, further down the beach. India brought her hands to her mouth, wiping away the blood, and quickly, the tears that threatened to spill.  
  
Jack didn't appear to be quite as brave. For several minutes, he had been watching some of Hawke's men heat a rather large stick in a hastily built fire. Jack could only pray that they weren't going to do with that what he thought they might. Or, remembering the last fire on a beach, he hoped that someone might see it through the darkness, someone from India's crew. And quickly. Before Hawke had even said anything, Jack was all pleading and sugar.  
"Look mate, I'd tell ye where the treasure was if I knew. You know I would, eh, Captain?" he said as sweetly as he could manage.  
"Now Jack," Hawke replied, "I don't believe you, and that's not good enough. Either tell me where it is, or tell me who else knows."  
Jack braced himself and vowed not to admit that India was the one with the map.  
The glowing-hot end of the stick inched towards his face. He could feel the heat from the red embers. A cold sweat broke out on his face, despite the increasing heat. When the stick was just inches away, he panicked. "I don't know where your bloody treasure is, for chrissake!" he yelled frantically.  
Hawke motioned for the man to take the glowing stick away. "We wouldn't want to burn that lovely face of his before he has a chance to tell us where the treasure is," he said.  
Jack realized that if Hawke was convinced that Jack or India knew the location of the treasure, there would be no way to make him believe otherwise. And Hawke seemed fairly certain that they knew.  
He felt Hawke's hand hit his face, hard. "Where is the treasure?"  
"Is that the best ye can do?" Jack asked with a smile. "I've had women hit me harder than that. Frequently."  
Hawke complied. Jack reeled from the force of the impact, the dark night swimming into a haze of pinpoints on a red background of pain. "That's better," he managed to choke out. "You can stop now, though. I still haven't any idea where it is."  
"Let's see if this helps your memory," Hawke sneered, hitting him again. Jack winced, the salty metallic taste betraying the presence of blood in his mouth.  
"Nope," Jack choked. "And careful with me teeth!" he added, "I've enough missing as it is!" He carefully wiggled several gold teeth to make sure they were still in place. Satisfied at their continued existence, he braced himself as Hawke hit him one last time.  
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were enjoying this," Jack said weakly.  
"More than you can imagine, old friend," Hawke said, before turning away. "Try again later. We'll wear them down," he told the man with the stick, venting an angry sigh.  
Jack exhaled and prayed that he could withstand another few rounds of this kind of abuse. He was fairly certain, though, that he would give in, if he didn't collapse first. He slumped forward and tried to think of a way to protect himself or India from another onslaught. 


	8. The Search for a Bigger Hat

Hey everyone! Thanks again for your reviews!  
  
. . .  
  
Eight . The Search for a Bigger Hat  
  
"Old friends?" India asked. She and Jack had managed to drag their bruised bodies within speaking distance of each other.  
"Not very good ones," Jack replied. "We've a rather long and unpleasant history behind us - and I'm not bloody pleased that he has decided to prance back in to my life. Let's just say."  
"You'll just say nothing," a burly member of Hawke's crew warned, finding that they were speaking to each other, and raising a fist in threat. "Shut yer yap an' get back to where you're 'apposed to be," he suggested. Obediently Jack began to shuffle his way back down the beach. India stayed where she was, but stopped trying to have a conversation.  
Sulking as Hawke's men watched over him, Jack desperately searched his foggy pirate mind for some way to escape. He had been working at his bonds for a while - since they had been tied, in fact; but the knots were still holding firm. What he needed was a sharp object . and he couldn't see anything in close proximity that might help.  
Jack looked down the beach, straining to see any trace of the other crew. When he saw that their fire had been put out, hope flared momentarily before it, too, dulled. They were all probably asleep. With an exaggerated sigh, he resigned himself to staring out at the ocean. If he had any rum, he thought, he wouldn't notice the pain so much. He might have been able to pull through. But Captain Jack Sparrow at the moment did not have any rum. What was there left to do? He had already sighed, so the next thing on the list was to act stupid and risk being slapped across the face. He mentally scratched a line through that option. His face, at the moment, did not particularly want to be hit. So he sat and waited, caught between lulling into a dazed state and remaining alert enough to try cringe away if Hawke decided to show up again.  
  
His head was nodding toward his chest when his senses told him that there was movement in the darkness. As he became more aware of what was happening around him, he realized that they were under attack! Well, not himself specifically, but Hawke's pirate colleagues seemed to be suffering from some sort of ambush. Jack watched the general chaos, unable to join in or get away. The sounds of shouts and metal clanging and scraping along metal filled the air. He tried to count the number of forms, or identify any of them, but they were moving too erratically in the dim light. The pale sliver of a waxing moon emerged from behind a wisp of clouds, but offered little illumination to the scene. At least, Jack comforted himself, these men didn't seem to suffer from a similar sort of curse as that which had befallen the members of the Pearl. "Ouf!"  
A particularly greasy pirate fell, wounded, over Jack. Trying to fight down his disgust, Jack seized the opportunity to take the bloke's cutlass and cut the ropes binding his own hands together. Luckily he had a lot of practice with that exact thing, and managed to wriggle around and contort his body in order to use his hands, which were tied together, to grasp the sword and delicately break free.  
After succeeding in escaping from the ropes, he shoved the body off of himself, and scuttled over to help India, who had not been so fortunate as to have someone fall overtop of her.  
Without so much as a word of thanks, she sprung to her feet. They took in the scene of what was happening around them, then glanced at each other, and mutually agreed to desert the fighting as quickly as possible.  
"Hopefully they're too busy fighting to notice," India whispered harshly as they turned to creep away. Someone blocked their path, though his back was turned and he was busily fighting someone else. Jack stared for a full five seconds before India had removed her boot and knocked the man over the head. Jack, finally reacting, drew his sword and sparred with the now-unconscious man's opponent. After a few desperate slashes, the other man gained the upper hand, grazing Jack's arm and drawing blood. Jack yelled out in pain. India, having skirted around Hawke's man, tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face her in question, and India punched him in the face. He reeled around from the impact, and Jack whacked him with the hilt of his sword, shoving him out of the way.  
Grabbing hold of India's arm with his uninjured hand, Jack led her into the shelter of the ferns, bushes and palm trees away from the beach. Once they were out of sight, he paused, dropping her arm to clamp a hand over his own wounded arm. India turned with a worried expression, glancing back to make sure that no one was following them. She grabbed Jack and urged him to keep going.  
"Come on," she said, "Let's get further away before we decide to dawdle."  
Jack grimaced at her, then assented, and they both fought their way deeper into the trees.  
"We need to find somewhere sheltered," India said as they ran through the undergrowth.  
"There's a bay . on the other side of the island," Jack replied, out of breath.  
India nodded, catching Jack as he stumbled over vines and roots. He glared at her begrudgingly to let her know that he didn't want any help, or that he did not want to admit that he wasn't able to run in a straight line without tripping.  
Finally they emerged onto the beach on the opposite side of the island. The sea was dark and the beach was quiet and secluded. Jack walked down the shore a little, trying to catch a glimpse of the bay and get his bearings, then gave up and dropped down unceremoniously on the sand. He cradled his arm tenderly, awkwardly ripping off a strip of cloth from his shirt to bind the cut.  
"Hold on, let me help you with that," India offered quietly. Jack was struggling to tie the bandage with one hand and his teeth. India's fingers took the cloth while Jack squirmed away.  
"I'm all right," he protested, "I can manage by me onesy, thanks."  
"Jack," she said firmly. He looked from his arm to her face, and held her stare.  
He wavered, then inadvertently narrowed his eyes. "It's Captain Jack," he reiterated.  
"Of course, Captain," she said, obliging his silly request. He must suffer from some sort of inferiority complex, India thought with a touch of pity. And the cut on his arm was deeper than she had initially thought. The sleeve of his light shirt was stained dark with blood. Jack swore and tried to pull away as she undid the bandage to examine the wound more closely.  
"It looks painful," she commented.  
Jack smiled condescendingly. "I've 'ad worse," he said, unsuccessfully masking the strain of keeping his voice at an even tone.  
"If it helps," she confided, speaking softly, "I haven't, so don't worry about trying to impress me. We're not competing for the nastiest scrapes. I know you're a tough old sea dog and all that. But Jack." He looked as if he were going to remind her again that it was 'Captain,' so she shook her head and went back to tying the piece of cloth around his arm. Why did he always need to be so withdrawn and armoured? She wondered how much of his character was just an act to protect himself and hide who he really was.  
"They're going to catch up with us quickly, I'll wager," she said, trying to change the subject.  
"Not if they weren't following us," he pointed out, reclaiming his arm and holding it protectively against his chest.  
"They'll come looking," she insisted. "When we're not there, they'll think that we know something, and they'll hunt us down."  
"Do we know something?" Jack asked.  
India thought about it for a moment, but remained silent.  
Jack changed the question. "Do you know something?"  
India looked away.  
"Where's the treasure?" Jack asked finally.  
"You told me not to tell," she said coyly.  
"Well, now I'm asking you to tell me," Jack urged.  
"I'm following directions from a map."  
"Where is it?"  
"It's from my father's journal," she informed him.  
"Where's your father's journal, then?" he tried, becoming irritated at the way she skirted the issue.  
"The map isn't there anymore, if that's what you mean," she said.  
"Well, where is the map?" he asked one last time, his tone dangerously annoyed.  
"I burned it."  
"You BURNED it?!"  
She nodded.  
There was dead silence. One . Two . Three . Jack tried to wrap his mind around the concept, but was too stunned to speak for several seconds.  
"Why?" he asked, dumbfounded. It was something he might have done, but he hadn't expected it from this girl.  
"So as to not be left behind once you found out where it was." She looked both upset and embarrassed.  
His glare softened a little.  
"Oh. India, love, I wouldn't leave you behind!" He went to wrap his arm around her but she moved away.  
"Watch where you're setting your hands, Jack," she warned.  
He backed off, his hand poised theatrically open in surrender. "I'm watching, love. Believe me," he muttered, then lowered his hand to his side. Captain Jack Sparrow, however, was not a man to sit idly for long. He twiddled his fingers, then stood up determinedly, holding his wounded arm as still as possible. Without a word, he marched unevenly away.  
India watched his swagger for several heartbeats before calling out a protest.  
"Where are you going now, Jack Sparrow?" she called, half angrily and half in exasperation.  
He turned, lifted his chin to glare at her, and began speaking. "I'm going -" he began to flail his arms wide to illustrate his point, then painfully remembered the gash on his arm, swore, and brought his arm quickly back to his chest. Absorbed in biting his tongue to keep from crying out, he didn't continue his sentence.  
India put a hand to her temples, then got to her feet. "I'm coming with you," she proclaimed. Someone needed to keep that pirate out of trouble.  
He looked up from his arm and glared at her some more, then turned and kept walking in acceptance. At least she took it to mean that he had no quarrel with her following him.  
They neared the inlet, and Jack warily eyed the jutting rock from which he had fallen.  
"Fifty paces," she muttered from behind him.  
"What?" Jack asked, turning around to face her.  
"North . from the stone on the bay to the next landmark."  
He stared at her for a minute.  
"Beg your pardon?"  
"It all makes sense," she continued to no one in particular but presumably to herself, "The inlet, the rock . there should be a stream farther on ." she trailed off.  
"What in the name of all creation are you on about now?" he asked, half sighing, half exasperated.  
"Me thinks this is the island where the treasure's buried," she said, sliding into pirate-speak.  
"Of course," he said, smiling patronizingly. "When was the last time you had some sleep? Because if it's been a while I suggest we have a little lay-down while you catch your senses, right love?"  
"Captain Jack Sparrow, I do not like either of the implications that you are making with that speech."  
"Now, India. Let's not draw conclusions 'afore we've counted all our coins," he raised a finger in warning, and smiled a small smile.  
"I think you're missing a few, Jack Sparrow. And I suggest you find them for my benefit if not for your own. Because if I have to spend several more hours on this sodding island with a pirate who can't even keep his trousers on or his wits straight ."  
"What, love?" Jack asked, obviously anticipating some clever conclusion.  
India shook her head. "I've got better things to do," she said, and walked away.  
"Oy!" he called. "Hang on."  
"What?" she asked, not turning. "Are you going to start being useful, or just continue being a blathering idiot?"  
Jack fought to keep his cool. "If I'm bein' a blathering idiot it likely has something to do with the fact that you're ."  
"That I'm what?" she asked, stopping in her tracks and turning to face him, her expression daring him to continue.  
"That you're ." Jack exhaled. A woman? "Completely and utterly wrong about anything you think I may be suggesting with what I said, all right? I take it back - I mean, I didn't mean it in the first place, savvy? You're a very unattractive girl, and I couldn't be more pleased if you never slept again and I have to put up with your complaints 'til the day we leave this island. And I'm jealous of your hat. There. Are you happy?"  
She certainly didn't seem to be.  
"Look, it's more trouble than you're worth," he explained.  
She glared as though she could burn holes through him with her eyes. "I mean you're more trouble than it's worth," he corrected himself, but this didn't seem to help. "I'm going to shut me mouth now," he assured her.  
"I'll believe it when I see it," she said, completely disgusted with him, but on the verge of giving up. There was no hope for this sorry excuse of a pirate. No wonder her father had marooned him. Likely couldn't stand the man. India reached the rock, then spun around a couple times, trying to decide which way was north. Unlike her more experienced pirate companion, she had no idea which way it might happen to be. "You have a compass, don't you?" she demanded angrily, spinning to face him.  
"Won't help us here," he answered, standing several paces away.  
"Why not?" she asked.  
"It doesn't point north," he explained.  
"What kind of a stupid useless pirate carries around a compass that doesn't work?" she asked hotly.  
"Doesn't point north," he repeated defensively.  
"Whatever."  
"It just so happens that I don't need a compass," he gloated.  
"Good thing," she muttered, then continued, "Why not? Are you magical now too? The great all-powerful Jack Sparrow?"  
"Has a certain ring to it, don't you think?" he grinned, then said, "Any good sailor knows how to use the stars to find his way."  
She pondered this, and her scowl disappeared momentarily. "There might be hope for you yet," she said, then added, "Though I wouldn't bet on it." After a skeptical glance, she motioned for him to demonstrate his navigational powers. "Lead on, Captain."  
He hmphed and gazed up at the sky to find his direction, then began striding forward determinedly, carefully counting his paces.  
"Fifty, you said?" he asked. His inhibitions seemed to disappear, and there was a glowing confidence and excitement surrounding him. The prospect of treasure always seemed to cheer him up.  
"Fifty," she agreed.  
Jack stepped deliberately forward, and India trotted behind him, carefully keeping count in case he got lost.  
"Forty-eight, forty-nine . fifty," he spoke. As India had promised, they had roughly arrived at a stream that ran across their path.  
Jack looked back at India with no hint of remorse for doubting her. India beamed at him victoriously.  
Begrudgingly, he asked, "All right, what are the next directions?"  
"Why Jack, I thought I wasn't supposed to give directions. And to you, nonetheless?" Her voice was laden with false innocence. Now that she had piqued his interest, she was more than willing to torture him. After all this time that he had doubted her, she felt that at least she deserved an apology, if not to have him groveling at her feet. "What does a silly girl like me know?" she added.  
Jack looked skyward. "All right. You're allowed to give directions just this once. They're not really orders, are they? More . guidelines to finding treasure."  
India tapped her foot. "Not good enough, Jack," she said. "Thanks for pointing out north," she continued. "Now it will be a lot easier to find my own way."  
"What is it that you expect me to do?" he asked with an unimpressed sigh. Was she threatening to find the treasure without him?  
"Repeat after me," she instructed. "I, Jack Sparrow," she waited for him to say the words.  
Hesitantly he complied. "I, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow." She kept going. "Relinquish command to Miss India Barbossa until which time as she decides to be incredibly kind and let me have a chance at being captain again."  
Jack stared at her for a full two seconds before blinking. They both knew he would never comply. "Just give me the bloody directions," he said.  
"West, one hundred and twenty-seven paces along the river bed. There's supposed to be a shallow arroyo," India said begrudgingly.  
Jack pointed the way with a wave of his good arm, allowing India to take the lead. They followed the stream roughly west for about eighty paces before it veered sharply south.  
"Do we follow the river or keep going west?" she asked, sounding worried.  
Jack shrugged. "I'll trust your judgement, love. You're the one with the map, after all. Streams can change their course a great deal over a season, let alone however many years ago this map of your father's was written," he pointed out.  
"But do you think we should follow the river or continue westward?" she repeated.  
"I think," Jack began, carefully studying both routes, "We should toss a coin."  
"Toss a coin?" India practically hollered. "Do you have any sense, Jack? This is not the time for wagers and luck!"  
"On the contrary. This is exactly the opportune moment for such a decision." Jack fished around in his pocket, finally drawing out a rough silver coin. He held it out between his thumb and forefinger, turning it to show India both sides. "One side, our old mate George, on the other side a lovely sort of crest. Crest, we follow the river, George, we go west."  
"Why not the other way around?" India asked.  
"Because," he said, then paused for a moment, trying to come up with an answer. Narrowing his eyes, he fixed his attention back on the coin, tossed it in the air, then caught it and placed it on the back of his hand. "George," he proclaimed, then looked across the stream. There were no visible signs that the water had ever delved along a straight westward path. "Let's follow the river," he said, changing his mind.  
India looked at him in confusion. "I will never understand you, Jack Sparrow," she muttered. They continued alongside the stream. For another twenty paces it continued south, then meandered back to a westward direction. The stream began to deepen and the land to either side rose, creating a gully of four or five feet. Farther westward it became even deeper, perhaps cutting a dozen or so feet into the rock.  
"There's your arroyo, love. Now what?" Jack asked.  
India barely acknowledged the fact that his decision to follow the river seemed to have been the right one.  
"What would you do with the treasure, Jack?" she asked.  
He thought for a short time before smiling. "I would buy a hat. A really big one. And some rum."  
"Anything else?" she asked. "It seems like such a waste."  
"Some boots and a new jacket," he said, referring to the items he had shed when trying to swim ashore. "Let me tell you something I've learned," he began in a fond tone. "One of the very beautiful things about treasure, India, is having it. Not spending it," Jack explained. "What would you do?"  
She answered right away. "I don't know. I've never had money before. My father never sent anything home to his wife and child-" she cut herself off. Changing the subject quickly, she said, "We're to travel eighteen paces north . which I suppose means we have to cross the river."  
Jack tilted his head backwards in tension. "Right."  
Visually memorizing the area, Jack wandered a way back down the edge of the stream to where the sides were less tall and steep, then stepped in and trudged across, the water reaching well past his knees. India, before following, took off her boots, tossing them to Jack, and rolled up her trousers. She emerged on the other side, letting the water drip-dry off her lower body.  
Jack noticed her legs, and India noticed that Jack noticed. She quickly dried them off with her shirt sleeves pulled over her hands, then unrolled her trousers again, glaring at him defensively.  
"Don't think I did that for your viewing pleasure, Jack Sparrow," she said warningly.  
"I would only dream of it, love," he replied with a sly smile. "You're far too respectable for the likes of me."  
She exhaled angrily, reclaimed her boots, and pulled them on. Jack headed back to the point on the arroyo where they would have crossed had it not been too deep, turned to face north, then began counting his steps. At eighteen, he stopped and looked around.  
"What now?" he asked. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary; there was no landmark to indicate that they were travelling in the right direction.  
"Uh ." India began. Jack spun around to look at her. "In actual fact, we're supposed to travel . eighteen paces back south," she admitted.  
"So back to the river?" he asked.  
"Well . I suppose so, except it says 'under,'" she added.  
"Under ." he repeated. He looked around, then went to throw his hands in the air in exasperation, but was again reminded of his wounded arm. He uttered a curse, then tried to divert his thoughts. "Exactly how long ago would you say this map is from?" he asked.  
"I'm not sure," she said. "The first mention of it was in an entry about ten years ago."  
So many things could have changed since then, Jack thought. Small trees could now be full-grown, old trees could be dead and rotted. Rocks might prove constant markers, but he could see none of consequence in the area. Under?  
"Of course, he said that he added to the treasure up until four or five years ago. Half of the loot went here, the other half was divided between payments to his crew, and another island."  
"De la Muerta," Jack breathed.  
"Hmm? Yes, that might have been the name."  
Jack wandered the area, searching for anything out of the ordinary. In five years, the undergrowth could have completely changed. Remembering the cache underground that the rum-runners had used on his small two-time marooned-upon island, he decided to test a theory. He jumped, being careful of his bare feet, to check for springy ground. After several minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for. There was an uneven section of ground that felt hollow. He knelt down, examining the area with one hand while protecting the other in an attempt to not disturb the cut on his arm. He tore aside the dead vines, moss, and dirt to reveal a densely knit matting of some sort. He stepped back.  
"Help me with this, will you love?" he asked, again, kneeling to lift the covering, which was about four feet in length and width. India complied. With some difficulty, because the vines had woven themselves together with it, they lifted the trap-door-like device. Beneath it was a dark hole, not much smaller than the covering, the sides supported by logs and branches.  
"It looks like a tunnel," Jack observed, peering down into the darkness.  
"Gosh Jack, you might have actually done something useful for once," India admitted. Her comment failed to elicit a response. "Are we going down there?" she asked.  
He looked over at her and smiled.  
Under. 


	9. Heart of Jack's

Continued for everyone's (hopefully) reading pleasure .and thanks so much, Sparrow Quill! You're awesome!  
  
_  
  
Nine . Heart of Jack's  
  
"This is all your stupid fault, Jack," India complained from behind him in the tunnel. "Ouch! Watch where you're kneeling! Those were me fingers!"  
"Don't put your fingers under me knees then. Damned if I can see anything in this bloody dark!" Jack responded. He was finding it rather difficult, though not impossible, to crawl using only one hand.  
"I don't think this is such a good idea," she continued.  
"Turn around and leave then," he suggested.  
"I can't. There isn't enough space. I'd have to go backwards the whole way."  
"Then I would ask that you cease complaining."  
"But there's mud everywhere! Some fell on my nose," she continued.  
"It's not my fault. If you don't want to take your chances that the treasure is down here, we can back up the way we came, and try somewhere else."  
"I just wish it wasn't so dark and cramped," she said.  
"And muddy," he added dourly. However, they continued onwards, crawling on all fours in a pitch-black tunnel several feet underground.  
"What if it collapses?" India asked. "What if it floods?"  
"At least we're here together, hmm?" he said.  
"Some comfort," she muttered. "How far have we gone?" she asked.  
"Couldn't say," he replied. "Perhaps eighteen paces, but I don't know what that is when converted to crawling. How much farther is there yet to go?"  
"After the eighteen paces south ." she trailed off, trying to remember. "I don't know."  
"Oh, lovely," Jack said. "So we followed your father's directions to a dark hole in the ground and we wouldn't know either way if it was our doom."  
"I suppose it could have been just a trap for whoever decided to read his journal," India admitted.  
"That's comforting," Jack replied sarcastically. "Any more second- guessing I should know about?" he asked.  
"Well, I'm glad you're in front and not me."  
"Oh thanks."  
They crawled in silence for a minute, then the tunnel opened up. Jack paused, sitting back to test the amount of space they had overhead, and India bumped into his feet.  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
"There's more space in the tunnel now," he said.  
"Oh."  
"You wouldn't happen to have a flint box with you?" Jack asked.  
"Actually . no," India said.  
"Mmn," he replied, then searched through his pockets and finally finding two flint stones. "Anything we could use to burn then?" he asked.  
"Why didn't we think of this before we got down here?" she asked, a little annoyed.  
"I'm not perfect, love," he pointed out.  
"That's news to me," she scoffed. "But really. You'd think if we were going into a black pit, someone might think to bring a source of light."  
"So why didn't you think of it?"  
She had no reply to this.  
Using the extra space in the tunnel, they turned around and made their way slowly back to the entrance. They reached the vertical part of the tunnel, then stood up, the opening illuminated by the night. The top of Jack's head barely reached ground level, and despite her complaints, Jack shoved India upwards so she could reach the mouth of the opening and crawl out. Jack tried jumping, but then discovered that he could not pull himself up using only one arm, and India was in no position to help him.  
"Tell you what, love," he said after a moment. "I'll stay down here, and you gather together some reeds and twigs and jump back down."  
India sighed but did as she was told.  
When she returned, she tossed down the bundle, and Jack got out of the way so she could leap down into the hole. This time, they re-covered the entrance to the tunnel, hoping that it might momentarily fool anyone who stumbled across it.  
Jack turned around to start crawling.  
"Aren't you going to carry this stuff?" India asked. He could, he supposed, if he held it next to his body with his wounded arm.  
Without acknowledging her, he picked up the dried vegetation, re- oriented himself, and began down the tunnel.  
"Why don't we use some now to light the way?" India asked.  
"Do you want to carry it?" he asked. "Of course, then I couldn't see where I was going, but you could see me backside ." he suggested. "We know our way to where the tunnel opens up. But we don't know how much farther it is past that. We wouldn't want to have to turn around and get more, would we?" he asked.  
"No," she acquiesced.  
The tunnel widened out, and Jack paused to light several dried rushes. In many respects, it was still just a tunnel, muddy but supported by a wood-lined frame, and perhaps eight feet in height. They stood up, and Jack held the torch, wandering forward. There was only one way to go. The tunnel veered westward again, and abruptly the walls became stone. They seemed to have been carved out of the rock by water, as a sort of cave.  
They continued down the passageway for several more minutes before something glinted in the distance. Jack's eyes sparkled, and his heart raced.  
"Jack ." India said in excitement, and he scurried forward towards the main section of the cave. The passageway opened into a cavern, in which rested the largest, most glittery and intoxicating treasure that Jack or India had ever seen.  
They stood gaping at it, neither of them able to find any words to say. India was the first to rush forward. She dug her hands deep into an overflowing coffer of gold and jewels, letting out a yelp of delight.  
"We did it, Jack, we did it!" she exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear.  
Jack smiled, a little more subdued than his partner. Treasure could have such an overwhelming effect on some people. He set the rushes in a large silver vase, lighting several torches around the room. The light from the treasure danced around the cave. India ran back to him, wrapping her arms around him in joy. "Isn't it wonderful?" she asked. "Isn't it the most amazing thing you've ever seen?" Jack enjoyed the moment, then pointed out in a somewhat amused voice, "India, you've got your arms around me, love."  
"Oh," she said, letting her arms fall to her side and stepping back. "Sorry."  
He nodded. "Not a problem." He gazed around the room. "I just have one thing to ask."  
"Yes?" she breathed.  
"How in hell are we going to get any of this treasure out of here?"  
India gazed at him in desperation. "Mr Sparrow, how can you be sensible at a time like this? How do you always know exactly what to say to ruin a moment?"  
"Practice and patience, love."  
"Of course," she replied. She sat down on a pile of treasure and rested her elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand. "We could take it out one piece at a time," she suggested.  
"More importantly," he continued, "How do we prevent anyone else from finding this?"  
She sighed. "Well, it was nice while it lasted," she commented. "Is all treasure so much trouble?" she asked.  
"Some is definitely more," he answered, thinking of the curse of the Aztec gold, which he had thankfully eluded, or of his extensive problems with women. He took a seat nearby.  
They looked around the room.  
"So now that you have this treasure, will you just go back to sitting in Tortuga, getting drunk off your seat?" she asked a little disgustedly.  
Jack didn't answer. He was busy gazing at the gold, the warm light reflecting off the surfaces of the treasure, the water, and the walls of the cave and playing in patterns across his face and clothes.  
"How did you lose the Pearl, Jack?" India wondered in a softer voice.  
He glanced over at her. "Which time?" he asked.  
"How many times were there?"  
"Several."  
"All right, the last time," she said.  
He smiled sadly. "I gave her up," he admitted. "I don't remember why exactly," he continued, anticipating her question. "Perhaps I thought I had something to live for, some reason I didn't want to be a pirate anymore. Perhaps I felt I'd accomplished what I set out to do." He shook his head. "I don't know, India love. I couldn't say. It seemed like a good idea at the time."  
"What will you do now?" she inquired.  
"Sleep," he replied. "I'm tired."  
"No, I mean after that," she said.  
"I haven't any idea," he replied. "I'll think about it in the morning if you don't mind, India."  
"Fine," she said.  
Jack settled back onto his own pile of treasure, letting the torches burn out but making sure he knew where his flint and tinder were for morning.  
"You're a fine pirate, Jack," India murmured in the dimming light.  
"Hush, love, go to sleep," he answered.  
  
When he awoke, light was streaming in from an opening high in the cave wall. Jack turned over and tried to stretch out a crick in his back from sleeping lopsided over a pile of treasure.  
He stood up, lighting a torch to add some extra light to the morning. India was still sleeping, nestled in a pile of gold. Jack leaned over her, his hand hovering a short distance away from her face. She was quite a pretty girl, not a bad pirate, and had led them to a lot of treasure. A bloody lot of treasure. He was sure he could get over the fact that she had quite a temper, that her favourite pass-time seemed to be arguing with him, even that she hated him. But the fact that she was Barbossa's daughter . it settled unevenly like lead in the pit of his stomach. He started to take his hand away.  
India opened her eyes. She realized that she was looking into Jack's face.  
"What in hell do you think you're doing?" she asked.  
"Backing away," he answered.  
"Bloody right you are," she said, sitting up. She looked around, and her spirits seemed to improve. "I'm hungry," she declared.  
"Well then I suppose we can't stay down here forever," Jack intoned.  
"Mmn. Sleeping on a golden bed is less comfortable than one might think," she commented. "How is your arm?" she asked, less moodily.  
"Still there," he said. "The gangrene doesn't seem to have set in too seriously yet," he added. She looked alarmed for a moment, then realized that he was joking.  
"You have the strangest sense of humour, Captain Sparrow," she spoke, shaking her head. With a little difficulty, she stood up, then rolled her head from side to side. "Ow. Bloody treasure," she muttered.  
"You might not be able to use it for a bed, but you can use it for buying one," Jack assured her. "What do you say we grab a few pieces for safekeeping, and we'll go see if we can find any food?"  
"You have very few sane suggestions, Mr Sparrow, but I believe this is one of them." India picked up a handful of coins, jewels, and trinkets and shoved them in her pocket. Jack did the same, of course shoving the treasure in his own pockets and not in India's. Once they were sufficiently laden with treasure, Jack picked up one of the torches and led the way back through the passageway. When they reached the tunnel, Jack extinguished the flame, plunging them into darkness. They crawled silently back to the upward passage, then stood up and pushed the covering out of the way. Again, Jack helped India out of the hole, and this time, he managed to climb out as well, with India pulling him up by the hands.  
Once they had both safely emerged, Jack carefully dropped India's hands, although neither of them took a step back. For a full moment they gazed into each other's eyes, kohl-lined ebony meeting tawny-green. Then Jack laughed a little at the silliness of the situation, and turned away. India's gaze darted back at the hole in the ground.  
"You'd never think all that treasure was down there," she commented in a soft voice.  
"Funny ol' world, innit?" he asked.  
She turned to him and nodded. India looked down at herself, wrinkling her nose at all the mud. "I could use a bath as well," she commented.  
"You don't ask for much," he said, raising his eyebrows. "A comfortable bed, food, a bath . I'm sorry to tell you, love, but at this rate I don't think you'll ever make it as a pirate. No matter how much treasure you have."  
"Just shows what you know, Jack Sparrow," she said saucily. But did she really want to be a pirate? She had done what she had set out to do; she had found Barbossa's treasure. Now she was not even sure what to do with it. She didn't know what she wanted to do at all, apart from finding food and somewhere to rinse herself off.  
Jack and India followed the stream all the way to the edge of the island, where it met with the sea at the base of the bluffs. They wandered along the shore until it leveled with the water, then India waded out into the ocean to substitute mud for salt. Sloshing back onto the beach, she smiled at Jack.  
"Food," she said. They continued to the north side of the island, where the crew had set up camp. Bodies could be seen strewn across the sand down the long stretch of beach.  
"I'm not sure whether to feel guilty for leaving or glad that I wasn't here," India commented.  
"There has to be somebody left," Jack observed. "Let's hope they're on our side."  
"How do you know there's anyone left?" she asked.  
"There's smoke from a fire down farther," he said, "And anything from last night would have smouldered out by now. As well as the fact that someone's got a sword pointed at us," he added dryly.  
India turned to look. Hawke's familiar form stood behind them, as Jack had guessed, with his sword drawn.  
"I had hoped we would meet again," Hawke sneered.  
"Thomas," Jack said, his smile forced. "And why would you hope that?"  
"Well, seeing as I've captured most of yer men, I was thinking we could negotiate."  
"I don't negotiate," Jack said, narrowing his eyes.  
"And why is that?" Hawke asked.  
"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."  
"Of course, Jack. Captain of what, may I inquire?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'll give ye the terms, and then ye can decide whether you want to tell me where the treasure is, or watch yer men, and yer woman," he said, grabbing India and holding her hostage, "be slit ear to ear." India struggled, and Hawke moved his sword from Jack to her throat. The cold blade against her skin seemed to calm her down, because she stopped moving. "And may I remind ye Jack, like anyone, you'll negotiate when there's something in it to be gained."  
"Of course you're right, Tom - Captain Hawke. But it just so happens that I have a few terms of me own to iron out, as it were, before we agree on anything."  
"I be listening, Jack," Hawke said. India didn't look impressed, or particularly confident in Jack Sparrow's abilities at negotiating.  
"First of all, I'd like to see me men," Jack insisted. "Secondly, I'd like to see some food." Jack's glance darted to something behind Hawke: Gibbs, with a raised branch. "Thirdly," Jack continued calmly, "I suggest ye watch out behind you, otherwise Gibbs is going to hit you over the head with a rather ugly looking bit of a tree."  
Gibbs shot him a confused look, but Hawke laughed in disbelief. "Now Jack, I may be a scurvy cad who hasn't had a sound mind in years, but I'll not be falling for that old trick." Gibbs understood, and continued with his plan. There was a thonk, and India slipped out of Hawke's grasp as he crumpled to the ground.  
Jack shrugged, looking down at the man. "Can't say I didn't warn you." 


	10. Jack Be Nimble

Ten . Jack Be Nimble  
  
"If he has me men captive," Jack began, "How is it that you managed to be here?"  
Gibbs smiled. "If one man can hide in the undergrowth, why not two?" He explained further. "Hawke and some of his men rounded up most of our crew after we attacked theirs, though there were more of us left than them. I managed to stay in hiding - but we ought to be careful; Hawke's men may still be lurking near."  
"Of course," Jack said, his gaze darting around in search of any sign of the others.  
"I heard you were in want of some food," Gibbs continued.  
"Aye," Jack said with a touch of amusement. Gibbs bade them follow him down the beach, carefully watching for any of the crew. Perhaps they should not have left Hawke alone, sprawled out on the beach, but they did. They were all paying rather too much attention to the contents of a knapsack, as Gibbs pulled out some biscuits and apples.  
"How be this?" he asked, relinquishing the items to Jack and India.  
"Mr Gibbs, you're a lifesaver," India exclaimed, voraciously devouring the food.  
Jack smiled, taking a bite out of an apple. "My compliments," he said, his mouth half-full. "Now, how shall we go about freeing the rest of the crew?" he mused aloud, though he was already devising a plan.  
"Well, I suppose the first thing to do would be to show you where they are," Gibbs said.  
"Excellent," Jack replied. "Lead on, Gibbs."  
The other man nodded, heading towards the trees. No one noticed that Hawke had disappeared.  
They walked uneasily through the silent trees and bushes.  
"I can't help but feel that as we're trying to surprise them, they're waiting to surprise us," India commented.  
Jack nodded and drew his sword. "I know what exactly what you mean."  
They approached a clearing in the trees, being careful to stay hidden in the underbrush. They could see several men of the crew bound in the center of the clearing, while some of Hawke's men languidly kept watch on the woods and messily ate food of an indeterminate nature.  
"Now what?" India asked with barely a whisper.  
"Now you join your friends," said a voice behind them.  
Jack rolled his eyes and turned around. "Why can't you bloody well leave us alone, Hawke?" he asked. "Fair is fair. All right, you tortured us, and we hit you on the head. The score's even now, so do us a favour and GIVE UP!"  
Hawke smiled a little and shook his head. "On the contrary, Jack. Methinks it's about time that you give up, and surrender to my crew. And lead us to the treasure."  
"And why would I do that, mate?" Jack asked drearily, tired of playing this game.  
"You may not realize it because they're quite well hidden, but you're surrounded," Hawke explained. Hawke raised his hand and motioned for his men to reveal their location, and a dozen or so men stepped out of the bushes, their swords drawn and pointed at the trio.  
India's shoulders slumped in annoyance. Couldn't they stay out of trouble for two minutes?  
"Ah," Jack said, taking in the situation then smiling at Hawke. "What do you say we sit down and discuss this, mate? I'm sure, since you're so astoundingly clever, you can see the sense inherent in talking over our problems. What do you say to that, hmm?" he asked.  
"Actually I had something else in mind," Hawke replied.  
  
"Jack Sparrow, you are by far the worst negotiator I have ever met!" India said angrily.  
"Come on now love, that's a little harsh, don't you think?" Jack replied with a smile.  
India stared at him. "No, I don't think it's a little harsh. We're bloody tied up with the rest of the crew now, aren't we?" she pointed out. Indeed, they and Gibbs had been added to the collection of bound pirates in the center of the clearing. "If you were any worse at negotiating, we'd be dead."  
Jack grinned ironically to himself.  
Hawke intervened. "As lovely as it is to see you two bickering," he began, "I must remind you that you will either tell me where the treasure is, or I will systematically kill the rest of your men."  
"Systematically?" India said, "I thought pirates killed indiscriminately - left, right, wherever they choose."  
"And what gave you that idea, missy?" Hawke asked, slightly amused.  
"Her father was Barbossa," Jack commented in response.  
India looked over at him and glared; Hawke raised his eyebrows.  
"Barbossa?" Hawke asked with interest.  
Jack regretted his words. "Well, he might have been," he corrected himself. "The girl here suffered from some type of amnesia. Can't remember her name, who her father was, or where the treasure is, for that matter. In fact, it's lucky she told me where it was before she lost her memory," he said, deliberately making it sound like admitting this was an accident. "Actually, what I meant to say was ." he trailed off. Hawke took the bait.  
"So you do know where it is."  
Jack went to nod. "No."  
Hawke shoved the point of his sword at India's throat. She yelped in fear, the cold metal tip nearly puncturing her skin. "Where is the treasure?"  
India realized that he wasn't asking her, he was asking Jack. She was almost relieved that Jack had come up with the amnesia story in the hope that she wouldn't be questioned any further. However, it didn't seem to improve her situation much, because now she had a sword hovering at her throat.  
Jack took his time answering. "Would you be more inclined to believe that we were left here to find the treasure, or that we were put here to distract you from following Captain Turner to the real treasure?" It didn't matter that neither of his tales were the truth.  
Hawke contemplated this. "I think ye were left here to find the treasure."  
"Very well, I admit that we were left here to find the treasure." Jack prayed that his plan would work, and that India wouldn't start shouting obscenities at him and give away the fact that it was true that the treasure was on this island.  
However, Hawke was not a master of reverse psychology. "Right men, get them to the ship. We're going to find Turner."  
"But Captain, he's just admitted that the treasure is here," a baffled pirate said.  
"Look you idiot, of course he'd say that to cover the truth that the whelp and his ship have gone to find the real treasure," Hawke explained impatiently. "Now move, or I'll be slicing your throats too!"  
His men hurriedly complied. India, Jack, and their crew were marched down to the shore, shoved aboard rowboats, and taken out to Hawke's ship, safely away from the treasure.  
India looked to Jack in amazement. He may have been the worst negotiator she had ever chanced to meet, but despite his misfortunes, luck was certainly on his side.  
  
"Right, so which direction did he go?" Hawke asked, then immediately saw the futility of his question.  
"I don't know," Jack replied with some certainty.  
"Where is the treasure then, and we'll just have to hope we beat Turner to it," Hawke said. Jack and India had been separated from the rest of the crew, and were now in Hawke's cabin to undergo questioning. Well, Jack was to undergo questioning. India was present as leverage.  
"Why should I tell you?" Jack asked.  
"Although she might not remember much," Hawke began, waving his sword in India's direction, "I'm sure you'll have the memory of her throat being sliced for . quite some time."  
"I see," Jack said, swallowing. Thinking fast, he bargained, "I want fifty percent."  
It took Hawke a minute to figure out that Jack didn't mean 'of India.' "Lead us there, and you can have ten," he offered.  
"Forty, or I won't consider it at all," Jack said, looking at his fingernails.  
"Fifteen or I slit her throat," Hawke threatened.  
"Thirty-five and you can do with her what you like."  
India protested indignantly.  
"Fifteen, and you keep the girl."  
"Twenty. There's a lot of treasure," Jack assured him.  
Hawke hesitated. "Twenty," he agreed finally. "You drive a hard bargain, Jack."  
That's quite a compliment considering I won't be leading you to any treasure at all, Jack thought to himself. "Excellent, then. I believe the first thing that's in order is to cut me loose," he said, extending his bound arms.  
"I may be a madman, Jack. But I'm not that mad," Hawke assured him.  
"Jack is," India muttered to herself from across the room.  
"What was that, love?" Jack asked.  
"I don't remember," India said sarcastically.  
"Of course."  
"Captain!" yelled a man from outside the cabin door.  
Hawke exhaled. "What the bloody hell do you want?" he called.  
The man opened the door a fraction of an inch. "There's a ship in sight, Captain!"  
"Turner?" Hawke asked, his attention focused.  
The man shook his head uncertainly. "She's flying the Union Jack."  
Jack smiled at the mention of his name, then became momentarily concerned as to whether the Brits would catch up with them and blow them to pieces. Then his confidence overcame his fears, and he resigned himself to watch Hawke's reaction.  
"Well don't bloody stand there ye scurvy dog! Stand and fight!" Rising from his chair, Hawke stormed out of the room. He could be heard above deck, shouting orders to prepare the ship to attack.  
Jack turned to India and India gazed back at Jack. "Still here, love," he said with a triumphant smile.  
"Wonderful, Jack," she replied sarcastically. "You don't think you could get us OUT of here?" she demanded.  
Again he smiled. Standing, he swaggered over to the side of the room where several swords were hanging. Listening for a moment to make sure that Hawke was still occupied above deck, Jack expertly sliced the ropes that held his wrists together.  
"You must practice that a lot," India observed.  
Jack nodded, taking a sword particularly to his liking, and heading over to where India sat, tied to a chair. "Sure you want out, love?" he asked, leaning behind her with his face close to her ear.  
She forced herself not to swoon at his voice, at the nearness of him. She reminded herself that he was Captain Jack Sparrow, the fool who had managed to get them into this mess. What was he doing? And why was she enjoying it? She closed her eyes for a moment. "No," she breathed. Then her eyes shot open. "Yes!" she cried. "Get me bloody out of here, Jack!" She tried to regain her edge. "What do you think? I want to sit around here all day with you breathing in my ear?"  
He complied, setting her free from the chair. She stood and turned to glare at him defiantly, but her gaze melted as soon as they faced each other.  
"Ough!" she exclaimed irritatedly, turning away.  
The ship rocked violently as an explosion sounded nearby, and India lost her balance. As he caught her, she found herself in Jack's arms.  
"Cannon fire," he explained as she pulled herself away.  
"Jack Sparrow, if I didn't know better, I ." she began, narrowing her eyes at him. The way he was acting . . . was much the same as ever. Only now . . .  
"Ah, but you do know better, don't you?" he said softly. "Why don't we go see if our old mate Hawke needs any help, shall we?" he asked.  
She still stood motionless.  
"Can you use one of these?" Jack asked, picking up a sword and handing it to her.  
"What do you mean, can I use one of these?" she began, then admitted, "No."  
"Well it looks threatening, so bring it along, will you?" he said, pulling her by the arm towards the door of the cabin. They were tossed against a wall as another cannon impacted.  
Regaining their footing, Jack and India emerged into the commotion. The other ship was directly beside this one, and men from the other crew were boarding using ropes and planks. Pistols shot and swords clashed, and smoke rose from the cannons as well as from fires caused by explosives. It took Jack several seconds to realize that the men from the other ship were not dressed in British navy uniforms. It took him several more to realize that the crew, in fact, was Will's. 


	11. Three Birds With One Stone

Eleven . Three Birds with One Stone  
  
"It's the Swann," Jack yelled above the noise to India, who stood beside him.  
"I think we were safer below deck!" she shouted back, as men fought all around them, thankfully absorbed in their own battles and paying them little heed.  
"Go free the rest of our crew," he told her, "They're likely in the brig."  
Instead of questioning him, she nodded, and turned to vanish below deck in search of her crew. Jack dodged a stray sword edge, hurrying away from the man who held it. Another man decided to cross swords with him. "Look," he began, "I don't want to have to hurt you." The other man didn't seem to care. "Fine," Jack continued, fighting harder and backing the man to the edge of the boat. As another cannon rocked the ship, the man plummeted backwards over the railing. "Sorry," Jack said, and turned to fend off another attacker.  
Amidst the confusion, Jack recognized two people. One was Hawke, who had desisted from yelling orders and was busily fighting for his life - against Will. Jack wondered briefly whether Hawke was any match for Will, and then whether Will still practiced three hours a day in order to 'kill pirates should he meet any.'  
Jack Sparrow carefully picked his way over to where the two were fighting.  
"Will!" he called.  
Will looked over briefly, while still fighting with Hawke. "Jack! Nice to see you."  
Jack watched for a moment, not wanting to distract his friend. "Need any help?" he asked.  
"Yes," Hawke replied, thrashing his sword against Will's.  
"You do, or Will does?" Jack asked after a moment. "Not that I'd offer you any," he continued.  
"Thanks," both Will and Hawke replied sarcastically between the clanking of metal.  
Jack sighed. "I meant Hawke, son," he informed Will. "Oh, by the way, did you show up especially for us or was there some other reason?"  
Will seemed a little irritated. "Look, Jack. If you're not going to be of any help, would you keep quiet so that I can fight?"  
"Oh, yes, certainly. Sorry." Jack intervened, taking over from Will, who appeared thankful to have a break. Jack and Captain Hawke travelled across the deck, fending each other backward in uneven turns.  
"Any astounding last comments you'd like to make, Thomas?" Jack asked.  
"I was going to ask you the same thing."  
"Hmm, not at the moment."  
"All right then, same here."  
They fought some more.  
"When are you going to give up?" Hawke wondered.  
"Tired?" Jack asked. "Me too. Will?" he called. Will Turner took over swordfighting again, giving new energy to the fray.  
"Thanks," Jack said.  
"Not a problem," Will replied.  
India emerged with the rest of her crew. As her men spread out to fight Hawke's shipmates, she hurried over to Jack and Will. "Jack," she called. He spun around.  
"India," he acknowledged her with a smile.  
Will and India's crews were gaining the upper hand in the general situation. Most of Hawke's men had either been slain or had jumped overboard. The few who were left were being taken care of. Some had thrown down their weapons in plea. The cannons stopped firing, and the overall noise level had dropped considerably.  
"I have a question, Thomas," Jack began. "Are you going to surrender anytime soon?"  
"Never!" Hawke replied defiantly. "Why?" he asked. Will backed off a little to give the man time to think.  
"The rest of your crew doesn't seem to share the same sentiment," India observed.  
Hawke slowly lowered his weapon. "And if I choose to stop fighting?" he asked, still on guard.  
Jack, India, and Will all looked at each other.  
"I suppose we could drop you off at the nearest island," Jack said after some consideration.  
"Or we could kill you," India added. "I'm sure no one would mind watching as we slit your throat."  
"I might," Jack said squeamishly. The others turned to look at him. "Just kidding," he tried. They continued to stare. "Honestly!" he insisted. As much as he liked to pretend otherwise, he didn't particularly like the sight of blood. "What are we going to do about Hawke?" he reiterated. They turned back to face the other pirate.  
"Tell ye what," Hawke said, backing up. "I'll go. You'll see naught of me again, I promise ye." Hawke stood against the railing and glanced behind him, readying himself to jump.  
Will stepped forward, but not in time. Captain Hawke had plummeted over the side of the ship. Will shouted after him, but Jack reached out a hand to hold him back.  
"Let him go," Jack said. They watched him struggle to swim away from the ship. "If he manages to swim ashore, let's hope he keeps his word. Hawke is one bird I'll be happy never to see again."  
"Elizabeth!" Will breathed. He dashed back towards the Renegade Swann, bounding across one of the planks set between the two ships. Jack and India tottered across after him.  
"'Bird' I suppose is what reminded him," Jack said to her.  
"But what if Hawke finds the treasure?" India asked, still worrying.  
"Then he finds the treasure. What could he do with it all? There's enough to last him a lifetime, even if it were shared a hundred ways!" he assured her.  
India reached in her pocket, digging out several gold coins from her stash. "We can get more when we need it, can't we?" she asked.  
"Certainly," he replied. "It was a very pretty island, and I wouldn't mind visiting it again. Let's give it a couple months though. Then maybe the bodies will be cleared away."  
"Eew," India said, scrunching her face in disgust.  
Jack grinned and set his hand on her back to lead her after Will. "Let's go see how our mate's doing," he suggested.  
They found Will and Elizabeth below deck in her cabin with their arms wrapped around each other. When Jack and India entered, the other two turned to look.  
"Jack Sparrow!" Elizabeth exclaimed, then looked to Will.  
"Isn't it an odd coincidence that he was aboard the ship with Hawke," Will asked.  
"Very," Elizabeth replied, looking questioningly at Jack. "Aren't you going to tell us a story?" she inquired.  
Jack looked at India. Would they share the secret? "Of course," he began.  
India cut in. "The island that you dropped us on happened to be the island where the treasure was hidden," she said.  
"Really?" Will asked, surprised.  
"Really," Jack repeated. "When we came across you, we were in actual fact leading Hawke away from the island so that he wouldn't discover that for himself."  
"Oh," Will said. "Sorry about marooning you and all," he continued apologetically. "I would like to say I had it all planned out so that you could get the treasure while I went to find some cannon balls to defend it with ."  
"But you didn't," Jack finished.  
Will shook his head. "No."  
"Why did you go to get cannons?" Jack asked.  
"Actually," he began, "It was because Hawke stayed behind. I was hoping to give him a good fight, then maybe I wouldn't have to pay him. It happened to be a good opportunity to find arms - while he was distracted with you."  
"Glad we could be of service," India said dourly.  
"I have a question," Jack stated.  
"Yes?"  
"Why were you flying the Union Jack?" he wondered.  
"Oh," Will said. "I figure it's safer that way. The Brits don't give you as much trouble."  
"That's clever," India said.  
"Especially if you haven't got any cannons," Jack added. "However, when you didn't have weapons, you were flying the Roger ."  
"Looks more menacing. Scares other pirates away," Will explained.  
"Right," Jack said.  
"Sounds crazy," Will admitted, "But it works."  
Everyone smiled at each other in silence.  
Jack cleared his throat. "I believe I'll be commandeering Hawke's boat, if no one has another use for it or otherwise objects?" he declared.  
"Go ahead."  
"Are you going to be heading back to Tortuga then?" Jack asked.  
Will shook his head. "We picked up what provisions we needed along with the cannon balls. We were actually headed for Madagascar," he informed them.  
"That's quite a way to travel," Jack observed, "Even with fair winds. Any particular reason to go to Madagascar?" he asked.  
Will and Elizabeth exchanged glances. "It's where he wanted to go for our wedding," Elizabeth said with a sly smile.  
"I thought we had decided that was going to be our honeymoon," Will countered.  
"You're getting married?" India asked.  
"God willing," Will replied with a touch of pride.  
There was a pause.  
"Did you want a best man?" Jack asked. "I would offer to hitch you up, but the powers of Captain of the ship were bestowed upon me by - well - me, so I think ye might want something a little more legally binding?"  
Will nodded. "Despite the fact that I'm a pirate and all."  
"I'd settle for nothing less," Elizabeth added, still in Will's arms. India stood several paces away from Jack, who stood next to the doorway.  
"We were headed for Port Royal," Will continued.  
"My father wanted to be there," Elizabeth explained, "And he's granted us leave to hold the festivities in the town."  
"Ah yes, the governor," Jack said. "I suppose Norrington will be there too?"  
Elizabeth groaned. "More likely out hunting pirates," she said.  
"Ah. Well then. What say you I lay low for the ceremony, and join you mates for the after-party?" Jack suggested. Will smiled. "Agreed." "You wouldn't want to sail with us to the island first?" Jack asked. "There's a lot of treasure to be had." "I was never in this for treasure," Will shook his head. "You were the one who stole my ship. And now that I don't have to repay Hawke, I've no use for the gold." They looked at each other. "I'll give ye the directions," Jack said. "Thanks." The four left the cabin and headed above deck. Everything had calmed, and the two crews were working to clean up the ships.  
"So you finally found yourself a bird," Jack commented. Elizabeth smiled patronizingly, still not at all certain about Jack Sparrow, one way or the other.  
"Two," Will said, referring to Jack. "It's good to see you again after all this time."  
"Three if we want to count Hawke," India piped in. They all looked over at her. "Well, his name is bird-related too," she insisted.  
"It's a mad, mad world," Jack agreed with a smile.  
Will, Elizabeth, Jack and India faced each other. There was so much to say but no one could find the right words.  
"With any luck, we'll see you shortly," Will said.  
The crews divided. Jack and India waved goodbye, and headed for Hawke's ship. There were still a few matters to straighten out. 


	12. More Rum

Twelve . More Rum  
  
"Clear off this boat," Jack ordered, waving his hand vaguely at the mass of bodies. "Check to make sure there are no stowaways below deck. Splice the mainbrace and tie the rigging!"  
"What?" someone asked.  
"Just get the bloody ship underway!" he yelled, waving his arms around. "You do this a lot more efficiently," he admitted to India.  
"I'm sure I don't look so theatrical, though," she smiled in return.  
"Where are we headed?" one pirate asked.  
Jack stepped up to the wheel of the ship. "First of all we're headed back for that island," he began, changing their course. "I believe you men were promised some treasure for your services, and some treasure is what you will receive."  
Murmurs ran across the deck.  
"What do you say to that, men?" he asked, rallying his troops.  
"Aye! Arrh!" came the hearty reply.  
"Excellent," Jack said, and directed the ship back towards the island.  
  
Once they were within rowing distance, they weighed anchor and prepared to go ashore.  
Jack selected several men to accompany him, leaving Gibbs aboard the ship for safe measures. India of course would not be left behind.  
"Should we bring a lamp or something?" she asked.  
"Someone fetch a lamp," Jack called to the group.  
"You're welcome," India said. Jack smiled vaguely.  
Presently a lamp was found, along with other provisions, and the rowboat was lowered into the water.  
"If we're not back before nightfall ." Jack called back to Gibbs and the others who had remained behind, "Keep waiting. And pray that we haven't been eaten by cannibals. Oh, and see what can be done about the damage on the ship. I want her sea-tight before we're ready to sail to the ends of the earth."  
Gibbs nodded.  
Jack sat back, and his gang rowed ashore to begin carting a fraction of the treasure back to the ship.  
  
They finally returned from their third trip between the island and the ship at sundown. The ship was now laden with treasure enough to repay each of the men from the crew, with some to spare.  
As Jack had requested, the men who had stayed behind had worked diligently to repair the damage that had been caused from cannon fire in the fight with the Swann.  
Making his way to the front of the ship, Jack called for the attention of the pirates. "Oy!" They looked to see what he wanted. "To begin I'd like to thank each of ye for having done what ye do best. I've nary had a finer set of hands on deck." He continued. "I've a proposition for you. How many of you scallywags would be willing to grace me with your presence as members of me crew?" Jack asked. "Now that I have befallen the command of this boat, I've half a mind to captain her."  
"Aye," Gibbs spoke up, "That'd be the only half of his mind."  
There was good-natured laughter, and Jack could only manage to glare to keep from smiling as well. When the noise dimmed, several men voiced the fact that they would like to join his crew. The vote was fairly unanimous, with perhaps half a dozen men wishing to return to Tortuga with their treasure.  
Jack muttered something to the effect of 'A right bunch of pirates you are,' but agreed to their requests.  
"Right then. We'll be sailing discreetly to Port Royal where those of you who wish to venture ashore may attend Captain Turner's wedding. After which we will return the rest of you to Tortuga before setting out for the high seas. On that note, I will bid you gentlemen of fortune good night," Jack announced, then stepped down from the prow of the ship. The men returned to their posts or retired below deck.  
"And what about ladies of fortune?" India intoned and Jack sauntered past her.  
"Aye," he said roughly, "ladies most of all. But will you be saying good night so soon?"  
She looked at him, though her gaze met his lips and not his eyes. "Perhaps not," she replied. "There are a few things we might discuss."  
"What say you we inspect the captain's cabin?" Jack asked. "I wonder what our mate Hawke kept in his quarters?" He grinned at the prospect of looting the pirate's possessions.  
India joined in the spirit, her expression lightening. "You're nothing but a pirate at heart, Jack. No matter how long you stay ashore."  
"Who said anything about staying ashore?" he wondered. "Even a pirate is obligated to go to his ol' mate's wedding!" They headed towards the captain's cabin, at the back of the ship. Entering the room where they had been questioned earlier that day, Jack poked around at the contents of some of the drawers and desktops. India continued into the adjoining room.  
She halted at the doorway. The furniture of the room consisted of several dressers, chests, a washstand, and a rather imposing bed. The cabin was a mess. India's stomach turned at papers, clothing, and debris strewn across the room.  
Jack wandered over to stand behind her, and gazed over her shoulder into the room.  
"This looks like home," Jack commented.  
"You have a home?" India asked naively, turning her head to look back at him.  
"I suppose not," he amended his statement, "Though if I had one I'm sure it wouldn't be much tidier. I'm not exactly a marvelous housekeeper, savvy?"  
"Maybe you need someone to clean for you," India suggested.  
Jack's gaze darkened, and he backed up a step. After a pause, he swaggered back to look more closely at something that caught his fancy in the interrogation room.  
"Jack?" India called after him, turning to see what was the matter. He was intently inspecting a sword, and didn't look up. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Did I say something? I only meant that ."  
Whatever memory was haunting him, he shrugged it off. "It's nothing, love. Now, what do you say to a nice hot dinner, and a quiet good-night?"  
  
Dinner and a quiet good-night had been just that, India found as she reflected upon the evening's happenings, lying on Hawke's bed. Where was Jack? He was somewhere in the other room, sprawled across some chairs with a blanket pulled over himself. Like a gentleman, he had insisted that she have the bed.  
She wondered at that man. She didn't understand him one bit, and even deep down she could only guess at the reasons for all his actions. They had discussed very little while eating, making limited plans for visiting Port Royal. They had discussed even less after supper - Jack, seeming out of sorts, had bid her sweet dreams, sending her into the other room while he stretched out across a row of chairs that he had dragged beside each other. Out of courtesy, and insisting to herself that it was nothing more, she had brought him the blanket from the bed. Then she had returned all by herself to try sleep on Hawke's bed.  
Some gentleman.  
  
Jack lay across the chairs. They were certainly not the most comfortable bed he had ever had, but then, he'd lived through far worse. Perhaps they wouldn't have been so uncomfortable if he had been asleep rather than awake and worrying. He often thought in his spare time, but worrying was not something he was particularly in the habit of doing. Then again, neither was being sober for several days on end. Or being at sea. Two years was an eternity. Two years was far too long. He was nervous about returning to a life at sea, but he realized just how much he had missed it. On top of this, he was nervous about Will's wedding, because commitment always set him on edge. And the fact that the wedding was being held in Port Royal, the pirate-hunting capital of the West Indies, did little to comfort him. Thinking didn't seem to be helping to straighten anything out, so he tossed over - a feat accomplished only with difficulty on chairs - and pulled his blanked closer around him. He was nervous about India.  
As far as his character permitted, he could tease but never allow himself to get close or become emotionally involved. The past dictated his decision. It seemed so long ago that ... no, he shoved the thought aside. There was no use in thinking about it. Love hurt, and he hadn't ever given it a chance to heal.  
There were certainly drawbacks to being a pirate and having to leave any relationship. And there were drawbacks in seeking pleasure over stability. Of course generally they were marginal so he managed to live with them, but sometimes he dwelt on the matter. For the past ten years, twelve years, fifteen ... he had attempted to treat women as nothing more than objects. Each was another conquest, another addendum to his long list of piracy. Each was impersonal so that it wouldn't be him getting hurt. Well, not emotionally anyhow. His face might argue otherwise.  
He managed to keep tabs on his women most the time, he thought with a smile. The stories they could tell ... And yet, Jack placed faith in very few people. At heart, perhaps he was too forgiving for the vocation. He was still learning about trust, and betrayal. And India ... India was the first woman in a long time he had thought of as more than an object. But because she was Barbossa's daughter, it was harder for him to deal with his feelings towards her.  
Hearing rain pattering on the windows and on the deck above him, Jack listened intently for signs of worsening weather. The wind rocked the ship somewhat more nauseatingly than usual. As the rain grew louder, Jack sighed and rolled over. Onto the floor. Cursing, he dragged himself to his feet. He would have to go up to the deck to give directions to bear out the storm.  
  
India exhaled, unable to sleep because of troubled thoughts and rain overhead. She was uncomfortable. Frankly, Hawke's bed smelled bad. The room was a mess, and the untidiness grated at her nerves. How could she relax when anything could be threatening to fall on her? It was impossible to be calm with the ship being knocked around in the waves.  
She sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Maybe she would go see what Jack was doing. Maybe she could wake him up. Maybe she could talk to him.  
She hesitated. He was a pirate - at once it was what she wanted to be, and what she hated more than anything. He was not entirely there in the head, but again she wondered how much of it was living up to people's expectations of Captain Jack Sparrow. Not to mention that he had been friends with her father. And hence he was possibly old enough to be her father.  
Well, all right. She would ask him for the comfort she had never received from her own father. No, she couldn't do that. It was too complicated. Just think of him as another person, she told herself. Oh, she couldn't do that either. He was Jack Sparrow, and not quite like any other person she had ever met.  
She buried her face in her hands in frustration. After a moment, she stood up, her decision resolved. She walked to the door of the cabin, and pulled it open.  
"Jack?" she asked quietly. There was no reply, and as she stepped into the room she saw that no pirate's form occupied the chairs where he ought to have been. A lamp fastened to the wall was lit, and dimly illuminated the room.  
"Jack?" she repeated, walking over and picking the blanket up off the floor. He was certainly not here. "Blast damn pirate!" she muttered, heading towards the stairs which led up to the deck.  
  
"Jack!" someone called over the rain and wind. He turned to look. A bleary-looking India stood before him.  
"What do you want, love?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"  
"I couldn't sleep," she admitted.  
"It's awfully unpleasant weather out here," he pointed out unnecessarily. "Are you sure you wouldn't rather wait below deck? We wouldn't want you to catch a chill."  
"Jack Sparrow, the day you start mothering me is the day I will curl up in a corner and keep my mouth shut!" India assured him.  
"Point taken," he smiled. He moved to take off his overcoat, which he had presumably borrowed from Hawke's collection.  
"And don't bother to give me that coat, Jack," she warned him. "First of all, I would have found a jacket if I wanted one. Second, it's not yours." She realized what she had said. "I mean, it's Hawke's, and it's filthy." She admitted to herself that she and Jack as well as the rest of the members of the crew were likely just as filthy, and didn't wait for him to point this out.  
Jack shrugged and put the coat back on, his expression vaguely confused, and trying to figure out what India really meant by her comments. Jack quickly made sure that everyone on deck knew what they were doing. With an exaggerated sigh, he yelled some final directions to the crew, then ushered India back into the captain's quarters.  
"What is it that you want, India?" Jack asked, in a resigned sort of irritation.  
She made a face at him. "What do you mean, Jack? I'm not allowed to be on deck? Am I interrupting your oh-so-important work? Because I couldn't sleep and came to see what was the matter, it means that I want something?"  
"Everything is under control, savvy?" Jack replied.  
"So why are you being such a cad?" she asked moodily.  
"India, love, why don't you go to bed?" he suggested coolly, trying to ignore her insults.  
"Yes, that's right. Send the little girl off to bed so that Pirate Jack can continue uninterrupted." She shook her head in disgust. "If it wasn't for me, Captain Sparrow, you would still be sitting on your drunken ass in Tortuga, moping over your miserable failure of a life!"  
He honestly wasn't sure whether to be angry or reprimanded or keep moping. He threw his hands in the air in despair. "Yes, but if I had me rum, we wouldn't be fighting right now!"  
India stared at him for a minute before slamming a hand to her temples. "All right. Look, Jack. I'm sorry. I should have realized you're absolutely hopeless. My fault." She looked up at him. She spoke tensely, sarcastically. "Thanks for letting me come along for the ride. I'd appreciate it if you dropped me off in Tortuga after you've been to your friend's wedding. I have other things to do with my life than be second to you. I'll be going to bed now. Good luck to you, Jack Sparrow, because God knows you haven't got much else to rely on."  
"India ..." Jack called as she walked into the other room, but she didn't pay attention. Why did that female insist on being so nerve- wracking? Jack clenched his fists, trying to calm down. His blood felt several hundred degrees too high. "Blasted strumpet!" he cursed through gritted teeth. He thought of shouting obscenities after her, but decided against it. It wouldn't do either of them any good. He paced over to the windows and looked out across the raging sea, the rain pelting down on the waves. He watched for a few minutes. Thankfully, the storm seemed to be subsiding.  
He turned back into the room. The next task would be to arrive at Will's wedding on time and in one piece. What would he do about India? Then he realized that she could be incredibly useful in getting them all safely to Port Royal. And he admitted that he didn't really want to be angry with her.  
He took a deep breath.  
"India," he said, knocking on her door.  
"Go away!" she called from inside the room.  
"India, love, I need to talk to you."  
"No you don't," she retorted. "And don't call me that!"  
"Let me in and I'll stop, promise," he tried.  
"A pirate never keeps his word," she said after a moment's contemplation.  
"I can't help what I am, love. Take it or leave it."  
There was a pause. Then the door opened. India took a few paces back into the room. "Say what you came to say and leave."  
"India, why don't we -"  
"I'm not in the mood, Jack," she interrupted. "I'm tired. Please get to the point."  
"Now now," Jack said, "Let's not get into another fight."  
"We weren't fighting," India argued.  
"All right then, let me just -"  
"Hurry up."  
Jack shrugged. "I need you to go ashore at Port Royal, speak to Elizabeth, and find out about the wedding."  
"No."  
"Why not? It won't be that hard. We'll find you a dress, and row you ashore. It will be easier for you to go unnoticed. Because you're a girl."  
"I guess I'm useful for something then?" she commented darkly. "You know, you could find a dress and row ashore just as easily. Just shave your face and I'm sure no one would know the difference."  
"I think you'd be much better at it," he countered, shaking his head and maintaining a sense of humour. "In fact, I'm sure you're the only one to do the job. I wouldn't last two minutes before someone realized how manly I am." He held his chin forward with hopes of dispelling any femininity of his image.  
She rolled her eyes. "Don't patronize me."  
"What should I do then, lo - India darling?" he asked, drawing suggestively closer to her.  
She tried to keep glaring but found it nearly impossible. "Don't call me that either, Jack," she barely breathed, looking up into his face.  
He smiled as innocently as possible, which for Jack meant that he was up to trouble. "Won't you go ashore?" he tried, brushing her hair out of her face.  
"Never, Jack Sparrow," she said, frantically trying to fight back from the verge of doing absolutely anything he asked. There was no way she was going to don a dress, or set foot in Port Royal. Not even for Jack. She tried not to look into his eyes because she knew she would be completely lost if she did. To her horror, he placed a crooked finger under her chin and gently lifted her face to meet his gaze. Damn, she thought. Apart from the fact that she was actually enjoying the contact of his skin, she had gone into 'beyond denying him anything' mode. All it would take was one word.  
With a small smile, he asked again. "Please?"  
  
"Blast Jack Sparrow!" India muttered to herself, trudging along a cobble street of Port Royal in a dress. It was early morning, and the fog was lifting. A few of the pirates had rowed her ashore under cover of the dawn fog. Heaven only knew why Captain Hawke had hoarded dresses aboard his ship. Heaven only knew how anyone had finally convinced her to do this. No. She knew exactly why she was here. Three simple words: Captain Jack Sparrow.  
It wasn't as though he was good-looking. All right, she admitted to herself, he was desperately attractive. And his actions? They were endearing, if nothing else. But it wasn't as though she meant anything special to him. He likely would do anything to anyone to get what he wanted. Well, it wasn't as though they had done 'anything.' I'm hopeless, she thought angrily to herself. He barely lifted so much as a finger, and I fell apart!  
"Ugh!" she exclaimed. So much for being strong. She took a deep breath. She would get over him, she insisted. Besides, right now, she had other things to worry about. Like finding Will and Elizabeth and asking for the details about the wedding. She thought back to what Jack had said ... No! she thought fiercely, shoving him out of her mind. She would find her way on her own.  
"Silly dress," she said, looking down at herself, almost ashamed at the contours of her own body. This dress certainly left little to the imagination. More people were out and about now, as the day had progressed just enough that merchants and customers had begun their daily routines.  
"Excuse me," she said to a man in passing in the roadway. He paused and dragged his gaze over her from feet to hair. India felt violated, and crossed her arms protectively in front of her body. No one looked at her that way in Tortuga, partly because she was always dressed as a man, and partly because there were enough other women to look at. She felt so naked without her pirate accessories - hat, sword, belts, long-sleeved shirt, boots.  
Taking a deep breath, she asked her question of the man. "Do you know where Will Turner lives?"  
The man shook his head, and turned away.  
"Bloody help you've been!" she yelled indignantly after him. He shot her a warning glance and made some comment about her being a forward woman, then continued away.  
"If I had a weapon, you would not have dared to say that," she hissed, though he had disappeared into the crowd. As she continued onwards, people watched her sidelong. She wondered what was wrong with the way she looked, the way she carried herself, the way she acted. Was it so obvious that she didn't fit in?  
"Excuse me," she tried again, but no one seemed to be paying attention. Sighing, she walked over to one of the vending stalls.  
"Excuse me," she repeated. The man behind the counter gave her his full attention, hoping to sell something.  
"Yes, miss?" he asked. "What can I do to assist you? May I offer you a yard of this fine linen?" He showed her the fabrics  
"No thank you," she said, "But if it would be not too much trouble, sir, do you know the whereabouts of Mr William Turner's abode?"  
Hesitantly the man shook his head.  
"The Governor, then?" she asked. "I've just arrived in town and unfortunately I don't know my way around."  
"Certainly," the man answered, "That house over there is where the Governor lives," he pointed to a rather large colonial building.  
"Thank you," India replied, and dropped a half-decent curtsey. She handed the man a coin for his help, and he seemed somewhat cheered by this.  
"Good day to you, miss," he called as she headed towards the stately house.  
Running a hand over her hair to make sure it had stayed in place, she knocked on the door. Presently a butler opened it.  
"Is the Governor at home?" she asked as formally as she could manage.  
Judging her to be safe to allow admittance to the house, he nodded, and stepped aside to let her in. She looked around the high entrance hall, at the curved staircase running off to her left, and through the hall to the other rooms of the main floor.  
The Governor came to meet her.  
"Good day, Governor Swann," she said, dropping another curtsey.  
"What can I do to help you, Miss ..." He waited for her name.  
"I'm a particular friend of Elizabeth's," she explained. "Me name's - I mean, my name is India."  
"India?" he questioned.  
"Uh ... it's short for Isabella," she lied. "Elizabeth loves giving people nicknames." India tried to laugh but it sounded forced and brittle.  
The Governor didn't seem to notice. Perhaps he was used to women acting false. "Yes, of course," he smiled. "She's upstairs. I'll call her." He turned and bellowed, "Elizabeth! There's someone here to see you!"  
Elizabeth's form hurried to the second floor banister. "Who is it?" she asked.  
"It's Isabella, dear," the Governor replied.  
"Isabella?" Elizabeth asked confusedly, then caught sight of India. "Oh, yes, of course!" she said, coming downstairs. "I'm so glad to see you, Isabella."  
The girls greeted each other.  
"Won't you come sit down?" Elizabeth asked, motioning India towards the stairs. India nodded courteously, picked up her skirts, and tried to go up the steps without tripping on her dress.  
"I'll leave you girls, then," the Governor said in his dazed sort of manner.  
"Thank you, father," Elizabeth said, then followed India upstairs. Elizabeth led India to her room, then closed the door behind them.  
"India, what are you doing here?" she asked, sounding genuinely pleased and surprised.  
"Jack sent me to - I mean, I came to find out more about the wedding, because the pirates are worried about lingering around Port Royal for too long," she explained, trying to make it sound like the trip had been her idea.  
"Don't worry," Elizabeth began, "Commodore Norrington is away at the moment, and my father has been - rather negligent of capturing pirates of late."  
India exhaled. "Jack will be glad to hear that," she said, without thinking about the fact that she was still talking about him.  
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes. And the wedding is planned for the end of the week."  
"Where's Will?" India asked. There was a small cough from the other side of the room, and Will stood in the doorway between adjoining chambers. His clothes were a little disheveled, along with his hair, which had fallen out of its ribbon.  
"Oh!" India exclaimed, realizing that she had interrupted something. "I'm terribly sorry."  
"Don't worry about it," Will smiled.  
"All right, I won't," India assured them.  
"I meant to ask you," Elizabeth began. "Would you like to be my bridesmaid?"  
"I ..." India thought about it for a moment. "I suppose so," she agreed. "I will have to find a different dress, though," she said, looking down at herself. "Jack found this one, and -" She cut herself off. Why couldn't she last two minutes without mentioning him?  
"You could stay here for the next couple days until the wedding," Elizabeth offered. India's gaze darted over to Will. "He was just visiting," Elizabeth explained slyly. "And besides, there's more than enough room in this house for several guests."  
"I would love to, but I have to tell the boys what's happening," she said. "I'm supposed to meet them tonight after sundown. But," she added, "if I may, I would prefer to stay here than on that ship!"  
"I can't say that I blame you," Elizabeth smiled.  
And so it was agreed that India would spend the remainder of the week with Elizabeth, of course after informing Jack of the plans for the wedding. When he found out, Jack argued with India for several minutes, then, amazingly, resigned to her decision. Hawke's ship, now under Jack's command, would stay well offshore of Port Royal, and watch for any British merchant ships which might be looking for pirates.  
She hated admitting it to herself, but India was relieved to be spending some time away from Jack. It would give her a chance to breathe, and try to sort things out. She felt in danger any moment of falling for the man.  
  
It was a bright morning. India and Elizabeth were excitedly getting ready for the wedding. Elizabeth and her servant women had to help India more than she was helping Elizabeth, because India had shoved aside much of her knowledge of manners and clothing to devote herself to a pirate lifestyle.  
And now she was wearing a dress that Elizabeth had given to her, not the one that Jack had found. The absence hadn't been long enough, she guessed, because she was still thinking about him. Frequently.  
"What do you think of Jack?" India asked.  
At first Elizabeth seemed a bit offended, but then she turned the question over in her mind and smiled. "He was the first pirate I ever met ... not counting Mr Gibbs, or Will - but I didn't really know they were pirates at the time. I suppose it was rather exciting," she admitted, "But I've always loved Will ... so you see, there wasn't really any question of ..."  
"No, of course," India assured her.  
"I'm not really sure about him, though. He always seems to do exactly what you don't expect him to do," Elizabeth continued. "I'm sorry. If you want a better sketch of his character perhaps you should ask Will. I don't know Captain Sparrow very well."  
"I'm not sure that anyone does," India commented. She changed the subject and they spoke of something else. Her thoughts, to her dismay, still strayed to him. Tonight she would see him again.  
  
"I love weddings," Jack said with a smile to anyone and no one in particular. The ceremony had gone rather smoothly and uneventfully, and Will and Elizabeth were now happily married. Jack laughed to himself and wondered how long they would stay that way. And yet they were both very fastidious people. Maybe they would quietly reach old age together in a tidy, comfortable abode in Madagascar. Somehow Jack felt that Will would much rather be making swords than following in his father's footsteps, even though piracy was in his blood. At any rate, now that the wedding was over, darkness was falling, and the party was about to begin. And that meant drinks. Jack loved drinks.  
Sitting down amongst the other guests at a table down near the beach, Jack picked up a glass and filled it with rum. With a sigh, he downed the drink, and poured himself another.  
Food was passed down the table.  
"I could do this more often," Jack commented.  
India, who was sitting near him, shook her head. "Jack Sparrow, one day you will drink yourself to death," she asserted.  
"Perhaps, love, perhaps," he said, "but not today."  
Jack raised his glass. "I'd like to propose a toast to the groom and bride. The bride ... Wonderful girl. Never would have worked between us though, darling," he added to Elizabeth, mostly for Will's benefit. "But she taught me the greatest pirate song that ever was. And I thought, since Will's become a fine pirate, we all ought to sing it together." He had most people's attention, so he continued. "Mna da na na na, and really bad eggs, drink up me hearties yo-ho ..." And thus began a raucous chorus of 'A pirate's life for me ...' followed by cheering and laughing and more drinking.  
Time passed, and people floated from one table to another. India stood up and made her way over to where Will and Elizabeth had ended up, speaking with some guests at a smaller table. Characteristically, Jack swaggered over, a bottle in hand, to attempt something stupid. He was singing another bawdy song, his voice gravelly and swerving off-tune. He slumped down in one of the chairs.  
"How's everyone over here tonight?" he asked.  
"Fine Jack, we're just fine," Will replied.  
"That's good to hear. I was just thinking ..." he began. Everyone groaned.  
"No no no," he assured them. "Hear me out. I was just thinking how happy you two are going to be. I'm very ... happy for you." He smiled broadly. "Whadda ya say to more rum?" he said, hoisting his bottle.  
Elizabeth looked down at the tablecloth, India rolled her eyes, and Will shook his head slightly. Undeterred, Jack took a swig, set the bottle down, and crossed his arms in front of him on the table. "So off to Madagascar, is it?" he asked.  
"That's what we had hoped, now that we're done here," said Will. "By the way, what became of Hawke?" he asked.  
Jack tilted his head. "Oh him? He jumped overboard so we let him go."  
"You let him go?" Will asked.  
"What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't have killed him!" Jack insisted.  
"Why not? You shot Barbossa," he pointed out. India froze. Jack widened his eyes, and Will realized his mistake.  
"Sorry about that, Jack," Will said quickly, tensely waiting to see India's reaction. Jack turned to India, but she refused to look at him.  
"India?" he asked.  
"Oh ..." she said, looking disoriented.  
In the background, Will continued apologizing. 


	13. That's Captain to You

Sorry I took so long to update. But this is the ending. Okay, it's kind of short and maybe a bit abrupt, I know . but I need to finish this story. Basically ... well, anyhow, read it and let me know what you think. Thanks to everyone, you've been a great audience. A special thanks to Sparrow Quill for her encouraging reviews. Maybe I'll be back with another story someday ...  
  
Just as a note - Jack's last lines are quoted from Johnny Depp.  
  
-  
  
Thirteen . That's Captain to You  
  
If Jack had booted her in the chest, India thought, it would have had about the same effect as Will's words. Confused, angry, and unsure how to react to this news, she stood up uncertainly. Should she punch Jack, or run away, or do nothing at all? Wondering why there were tears in her eyes, she hurried away from the table.  
"India, love! Let's try to talk about this sensibly! I can explain," Jack called after her. "Lovely, Will. Thank you," he said, rising to follow her. "India!" he called, running unevenly after her.  
He caught up to her, and she sullenly stopped. Instead of bringing up the fact that he had shot her father, or being angry and slapping him, she turned, tears running down her face.  
"You were just using me, Jack!" she cried. "I was stupid to think you cared! I was -" She didn't care what she was admitting, but turned away, unable to look at him. Her shoulders shook as she buried her face in her hands.  
Jack wasn't sure whether he should try to comfort her or back away, so he did nothing except stand and watch her. He wasn't sorry about shooting her father, so he couldn't even apologize. And then he realized that she hadn't said anything about that. She felt that he had been using her. For what? Safety, finding treasure, lord only knew what the woman assumed. He lifted his hands, then thought better of setting them on her, then didn't know how else to show her that ... that he wasn't just taking advantage of her. Carefully, he placed a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged away, wiping the tears off her face. She turned with a snuffle.  
"Don't think I want your pity, Jack Sparrow. Just because my father was never there for me doesn't mean I want you in my life!"  
"Just because ..." he trailed off. "What do you want then?"  
She made a face, forcing back the tears. "I don't know, Jack. I don't know. I want to go back to Tortuga, I want to forget about everything. I want to be a pirate. I want people to respect me." There, she had admitted her dreams to Jack Sparrow. Now what would he think of her?  
"Sounds like you need more rum," was his initial comment.  
She glared.  
"Joking," he assured her, backing away.  
"You had better be, Jack Sparrow, because I expect us to be sailing away from here and back to Tortuga before daybreak," she informed him.  
"Before ... leaving ... back to Tortuga?" Jack spluttered, trying to come up with a sentence. "But what about me mates, India?" he asked. "Do you expect me to just up and leave Will and Elizabeth?" he asked, flailing his arms towards the horizon.  
"Yes," she answered simply.  
He opened his mouth to try say a few more things, and unsuccessful, he made a face at her. She wasn't amused, but held firm in her request to leave immediately.  
Finally, Captain Jack Sparrow sighed, slumped his shoulders, and sauntered off to round up the rest of the crew.  
  
Within the day, they had reached Tortuga. By all appearances, Will and Elizabeth had been anxious to set sail for Madagascar, and were glad to wish Jack Sparrow farewell. Jack, on the other hand, had been a bit reluctant to leave the feast, largely due the fact that alcohol was being served, as well as being reluctant to do anything considering the amount that he had consumed.  
With a slightly throbbing head, he gave the orders for the crew to take rowboats ashore, and for those who wished to stay to do so. With an unexplained lump in his chest, he watched India climb into a rowboat, her eyes looking away as it lowered into the water, her face becoming obscured under her hat.  
Clearing his throat, he turned back to wait aboard the ship while his crew deserted him or took shore leave. As they had weighed anchor in the bay off Tortuga and needed to keep a close watch for other pirate ships, Jack made sure that someone was keeping lookout, then staggered below deck to the captain's quarters. He slumped down in a chair and put his head in his hands. Maybe more rum would make the headache go away ...  
  
...  
  
The day drew to a close, and the rowboats returned from Tortuga. Jack sauntered on deck to greet his crew and give directions to set sail. To his surprise, one of the men handed him his hat, a little battered, a little worn, but much as he remembered it.  
"Me hat!" he exclaimed, overjoyed. "Where did you find this?" he asked, nearly hugging it to himself before placing it on his head.  
The man nodded towards someone else, who emerged from behind a group of pirates. It was a woman's form, and to his chagrin she had a bigger hat than his. But still, he couldn't deny that he was happy to see her. She smiled a little as she saw him, and stepped forward.  
"What are you doing here, India? I thought you hated me guts!" Jack said, very nearly astonished.  
She shrugged. "I never liked Barbossa anyway."  
Jack blinked at her.  
"Well, are we going to get going, or are you planning to stand here and gawk at me all day?" she demanded.  
He abruptly spun around and started swaggering towards the front of the ship.  
"Hey!" she called. "That doesn't mean you can ignore me!"  
"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied derisively.  
"You are taking for granted that I decided to come back at all!" she accused.  
"Oh no," he assured her, "I'm unfortunately quite aware of the fact that you have returned. I was taking it for granted that you had left."  
She pouted. "If you're that happy to see me, I might as well jump overboard and swim back ashore!"  
He faced her, looking serious. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, love. You never know what sort of beasties are lurking in these waters."  
"I'd probably be safer with them than with you, Jack Sparrow," she muttered.  
He grinned, then looked around at the rest of the pirates who stood watching their conversation. "Have you men got nothing better to do?" he asked, then paused. "As interesting as this surely is to all of you ... I want to be out of here, so get to your posts. Now!"  
The men actually followed his orders, and the ship left Tortuga in nearly as little time as when India had commanded the crew.  
  
"I'm impressed," India commented dryly when they were safely out in open waters. "I didn't think it possible for you to successfully captain any sort of ship."  
Jack huffed defensively. "I was likely sailing the seas before you were born," he said.  
She raised her eyebrows. "It's even more of a wonder then that you can still manage to do anything right - since you're so old," she replied with a touch of humour.  
"Aye, but I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," he assented, and left it at that.  
They stood in silence as Jack navigated the ship.  
"I still need a name for me ship," Jack said after a moment.  
"Your ship?" India asked.  
"Yes, love, MY ship. I commandeered it and have since been captain of it. It is therefore and far beyond a doubt my ship."  
"Well then," she replied sullenly, "why don't you name it by yourself as well?"  
He rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have mentioned it to you, now, would I?"  
"I'm flattered, Jack," she replied sarcastically. "Why don't you follow Will Turner's lead and call it the Renegade India or something?"  
He scrunched his nose. "That's hideous."  
Surprisingly, she grinned. "All right, the Renegade Sparrow."  
"I'm not sure which is worse," he admitted, pondered it, then replied, "no, India was definitely worse. No offense, love."  
"Will you please stop referring to me as your love," she said in exasperation.  
"All right, I promise."  
"On your word?" she asked.  
"Pirates' honour," he said with a sly smile.  
She eyed him suspiciously, but didn't press the matter.  
"What are we going to do about the treasure now that everyone knows where it is?" she asked, her mind trailing back over the events of the past weeks.  
"Leave it," he replied.  
"But what if they plunder it and leave nothing left?" India pointed out.  
"Let them take it. There are other treasures in the world," he informed her nonchalantly. "We've certainly enough treasure aboard this ship to last us until we find some more."  
There was another pause.  
"Do you think that's the last we'll see of Captain Hawke?" India asked.  
"Not unless he's drowned," Jack replied after some consideration.  
"But he promised," she insisted. "A pirate never keeps his promise," Jack said with a smile.  
India studied him, still trying to make heads or tails of his personality. Maybe she would never understand him. Maybe she would keep trying.  
Jack surrendered the wheel to another pirate, and he and India wandered down the deck. India paused.  
"Where will we go, Jack?" she asked, looking across the horizon.  
He faced her. "You've a few things to learn, love. The beauty of being a pirate is that you don't have to decide what you want to do or where you want to go - you just go."  
"I thought you promised not to call me that!" she protested, ignoring his philosophical comment on freedom.  
"Sorry. Pirate," he reminded her.  
India winced. "This is going to be a problem, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically.  
"Maybe, maybe not," he replied.  
She sighed and looked back out over the ocean as they stood beside each other. "You know, when I was little, I never thought I would be standing on a ship with a pirate crew, beside a pirate captain."  
"Yes, the world's full of surprises, isn't it?" he said, moving to put his arm around her. She squirmed away, then turned to look at him, her emotions confused. Her annoyance gave way to a less readable expression, and her gaze softened.  
"What's this?" he asked, drawing closer to her. "Nothing to remark? You know, India, I might almost say that you liked me by the way you're staring." Likely he would have been safer had he not opened his mouth.  
He lost what ground he had gained, and she made a face at him. "Jack Sparrow, you are the most insufferable man I've ever met!" India declared.  
"Aye, but you don't really mind, do you love?" he asked, smiling his gold-toothed smile.  
"Ough!" she said and turned, storming away down the deck.  
He chuckled. She didn't really mind, and they both knew it.  
Jack leaned on the railing of his ship. He would have to think of a name for her. It might take a while, but in the meantime, he was determinedly gathering the things that keep a pirate happy - his ship, his hat, his rum ... and he was working on his woman. There were adventures left to be had, treasures to be found, waters to be sailed.  
"Life's pretty good, and why wouldn't it be?" Captain Jack Sparrow murmured, his dark eyes gazing out over the waves, and a smile touching his face. "I'm a pirate, after all."  
  
*The End* 


End file.
